Making a geometrically asymmetric capacitive rf discharge electrically symmetric

Abstract

The electrical asymmetry effect in a spherical, geometrically asymmetric capacitive argon discharge driven by two consecutive harmonics is investigated using particle in cell simulations and analytical modeling. We find that the discharge asymmetry can be reduced electrically by tuning the phase shift between the driving frequencies, i.e., the absolute value of the dc self-bias voltage can be completely reduced and the mean ion energies at both electrodes can be adapted.