ABSTRACT
Self-consistent simulation of low-pressure Radio Frequency (RF) discharges has considerably advanced, owing to the application of modifications of the super-particle method widely used in modern physics. Experiments and numerical computations show that a magnetic RF discharge exhibits all characteristic properties of a common low-pressure RF discharge, and that its specific features are associated with the presence of a constant magnetic field. The efficiency of many technologies based on low-pressure RF discharges largely depends on the energy of ions bombarding a target placed on the electrode. Higher ion energy contributes to the efficiency of many technologies, and this explains the increasing interest in studies of asymmetric discharges. Materials treatment technologies are based on bombardment of a target surface by positive ions produced in a discharge and accelerated by a constant sheath field up to high energies of several dozens and hundreds of electron volts.
