Influence of the Voltage on the Plasma Characteristics in the Radio Frequency Hollow Cathode Discharge

In order to increase the plasma density in the radio frequency(RF)hollow cathode discharge(HCD),a two-dimensional Particle-In-Cell/Monte-Carlo-Collision(PIC/MCC)model was employed to study the effect of the RF voltage applied to the hollow electrode on the discharge characteristics in the RF-HCD.The research results show that,compared with the capacitively coupled radio frequency discharge with the plane electrodes,the RF-HCD can obtain a higher electron density.With the increase of the RF voltage,the sheath electric field and the sheath potential drop in the hole both increase,causing the enhancement of the sheath oscillating heating and the secondary electron heating.The enhancement of the sheath oscillating heating and the secondary electron heating will increase the electron density.In addition,within the voltage range(150-210 V)set by the simulation in this article,as the voltage increases,the intensity of the hollow cathode effect(HCE)also increases,which will also increase the electron density.Simultaneously,as the RF voltage increases,the depth of the plasma in the hole also increases,which can further increase the electron density.Therefore,increasing the RF voltage is an effective way to obtain high-density plasma inside and outside the hollow electrode hole.