Resonantly Driven Electron Bernstein Waves in Magnetized Low-Pressure Capacitive Discharges

TL;DR

This paper investigates the physics of capacitively coupled plasma discharges in a mildly magnetized regime, focusing on the excitation and propagation of electron Bernstein waves within the plasma using PIC-MCC simulations.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of electron Bernstein wave excitation and propagation in magnetized CCP discharges, a regime less explored in prior research.

Findings

Electron Bernstein waves are excited and propagate into the plasma bulk.

Increasing magnetic field alters discharge characteristics significantly.

EBWs propagate along the plasma density gradient inside the bulk.

Abstract

The physics of capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) discharges is investigated in a mildly magnetized regime, defined by $1 \le f_{ce}/f_{rf} < 2$, where $f_{ce}$ and $f_{rf}$ denote the electron cyclotron frequency and the applied radio-frequency (RF), respectively. A distinctive feature of this regime is the excitation of electron Bernstein waves (EBWs) that propagate into the bulk plasma. As the applied magnetic field increases, notable changes in the discharge characteristics occur, with EBWs observed to propagate along the plasma density gradient inside the bulk. The underlying physics of CCP operation in this regime is analyzed in detail using particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collisions (PIC-MCC) simulations.