Abstract
Self-excited nonlinear oscillations of dust particles floating in a rf plasma are described. Small assemblies of two and three dust particles are levitated in the sheath, above the driven electrode due to the equilibrium between the electrostatic, gravitational, friction and ion drag forces. In a very narrow range of pressures, spontaneous oscillations of the particles are observed. A heating mechanism based on the ion focusing effect produced by the particles as ions flow vertically past them in the plasma sheath, is proposed to explain the oscillations.
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