Numerical study on ion energy control in a separate-electrode DF-CCP discharge
Keywords:
capacitive coupled plasma discharge, electrical assymetry effect, particle-in-cellAbstract
The effect of driving dual frequencies in a separate-Electrode dual-frequency capacitively coupled argon plasma discharge is investigated using a Particle-in-Cell with Monte Carlo Collisions (PIC-MCC) model. The frequency (13.56 MHz) is applied on one electrode, while the opposite electrode is powered by a variable frequency ranging from 27.12 MHz to 67.8 MHz. Our numerical results demonstrate that the combined electrical and geometric asymmetry effects enable quasi-independent control of ion bombardment energies at each electrode. Specifically, increasing the high frequency on the large-area electrode leads to a marked rise in the ion energy at the opposite, low-frequency powered small electrode, even as the DC self-bias voltage decreases. Furthermore, we find that the high-frequency powered electrode consistently sustains the highest ion energies, irrespective of its surface area.
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Copyright (c) 2026 O. Hennane, A. M. A. Boudghene Stambouli, L. I. Karaouzène, R Benallal
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