Numerical analysis of radio-frequency sheath-plasma interactions in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies

Abstract

A new finite element numerical scheme for analyzing self-consistent radio-frequency (RF) sheath-plasma interaction problems in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies is applied to various problems represented by simplified models for the tokamak scrape-off layer. The present code incorporates a modified boundary condition, which is called a sheath boundary condition, that couples the radio-frequency waves and sheaths at the material boundaries by treating the sheath as a thin vacuum layer. A series of numerical analyses in one- and two-dimensional domains show several important physical properties, such as the existence of multiple roots, hysteresis effects, presence and characteristics of the sheath-plasma waves, and the phase shift of a reflected slow wave, some of which are newly identified by introducing a spatially varying plasma density and background magnetic field.