Dust-density waves in radio-frequency discharges under magnetic fields

Abstract

Experiments on self-excited dust-density waves under various magnetic fields have been performed. For that purpose, different dust clouds of micrometer-sized dust particles were trapped in the sheath of a radio frequency discharge. The self-excited dust-density waves were studied for magnetic field strengths ranging from 0 mT to about 2 T. It was observed that the waves are very coherent at the lowest fields (B < 20 mT). At medium fields (20 mT < B<300 mT), the waves seem to feature a complex competition between different wave modes before, at even higher fields, the waves become more coherent again. At the highest fields (above 1 T), the wave activity is diminished. The corresponding wave frequencies and wavenumbers have been derived. From the comparison of the measured wave properties and a model dispersion relation, the ion density and the dust charge are extracted. Both quantities show only little variation with magnetic field strength.