A kinetic study of the source–collector sheath system in a drifting plasma

Abstract

The source–collector sheath system describes a plasma that forms between a Maxwellian source and an absorbing wall. The plasma is assumed to be collisionless and without ionization. Two distinct areas are being formed: the collector sheath, an ion-rich region in contact with the absorbing boundary, and the source sheath, which is an electron-rich area near the Maxwellian source. Our work examines the effect that shifted Maxwellian distributions at the plasma source have on the characteristics of such a system. This is studied for a range of drift velocities and ratios of ion and electron temperatures. We study the problem both analytically and using our kinetic Vlasov code, Yggdrasil. The simulation results are in very good agreement with the predictions of our theoretical model.