Presheath-like structures and effusive particle losses for biased probes at and near I–V electron saturation

Abstract

A theory for presheath-like structures near probes biased at and above the plasma potential is developed for collisionless plasmas with an electron-neutral mean free path on the order of the chamber scale. The theory predicts presheath-like perturbations to the plasma that result from the free streaming of electrons and an effusion loss process from the chamber at the electrode. For these situations, a loss-cone-like velocity distribution function for electrons is predicted where the loss angle of the depletion region corresponds to the angular size of the electrode at a specified distance. The angle of the loss cone becomes 180° at the sheath edge. In comparison with a previous collisional electron presheath model that required electrons satisfy a Bohm criterion at the sheath edge [Scheiner et al., Phys. Plasmas 22, 123520 (2015)], the present work suggests that no such condition is needed for collisionless low pressure plasmas in the ≲10 mTorr range. The theory predicts the generation of a density depletion of roughly 0.5ne and an electron velocity moment of tens of percent of the electron thermal speed by the sheath edge in a presheath with a potential drop of less than Ti/e. The range of this presheath perturbation is determined by the electrode geometry instead of the collisional mean free path. These predictions are tested against previously published particle in cell simulations and are found to be in good agreement.