One-dimensional particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision simulation for investigation of amplitude modulation effects in RF capacitive discharges

We have investigated the effects of amplitude modulation (AM) discharges especially in differences of AM frequency on plasma parameters such as electric field, electron density, electron temperature, ion energy distribution function (IEDF), and ion angular distribution function (IADF) of capacitively coupled AM discharge Ar plasma using a Particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision (PIC-MCC) model. The electron density and the kinetic energy of ions incident on the grounded electrode oscillate periodically with the AM frequency. The oscillation amplitude of the electron density in the central plasma region between the electrodes decreases with increasing the AM frequency above 5 kHz. On the other hand, the peak energy of IEDF decreases with increasing the AM frequency above 500 kHz. Thus, the AM frequency is a good tuning knob to control such plasma parameters.