Particle-in-cell simulation of ion energy distributions on an electrode by applying tailored bias waveforms in the afterglow of a pulsed plasma

A Particle-in-Cell simulation with Monte Carlo Collisions (PIC-MCC) was conducted of the application of tailored DC voltage steps on an electrode, during the afterglow of a capacitively-coupled pulsed-plasma argon discharge, to control the energy of ions incident on the counter-electrode. Staircase voltage waveforms with selected amplitudes and durations resulted in ion energy distributions (IED) with distinct narrow peaks, with controlled energies and fraction of ions under each peak. Temporary electron heating at the moment of application of a DC voltage step did not influence the electron density decay in the afterglow. The IED peaks were “smeared” by collisions, especially at the higher pressures of the range (10–40 mTorr) investigated.