Dynamics of dust particles in a collisional radio-frequency plasma sheath

Abstract

In this work, we have examined the dynamics of a single dust particle in a non-ionized radio-frequency plasma sheath. For this, we have used a steady state one-dimensional time-averaged model where the electrons are considered to be in thermal equilibrium, while the positive ions are described by cold fluid equations. The interactions between ions and neutrals are considered. Numerous forces acting on the dust particles, such as electric force, gravitational force, neutral drag force and ion drag force are taken into account. The numerical results show that the ion–neutral collisions have significant effects on the properties of the motion of the dust. The dust oscillation frequency increases and the equilibrium position of the dust particle drops when the coefficient of ion collision increases.