Investigation of the Boltzmann relation in plasmas with non-Maxwellian electron distribution

Abstract

An experimental investigation of the Boltzmann relation at various radio frequency (RF) powers was performed in a low pressure RF inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The measured electron energy probability functions (EEPFs) show a high population of low energy electrons at low RF powers, while the population of high energy electrons is high at high RF powers. In these bi-Maxwellian EEPFs, radial variations of the electron density and the plasma potential from the center to the edge of the discharge chamber were plotted according to the Boltzmann relation with the effective temperature T-eff and the screening temperature T-s, and it was found that the Boltzmann relation with the screening temperature, rather than with the effective temperature, describes the relation between the electron density and the plasma potential.