Kinetic theory of stochastically heated RF capacitive discharges

Stochastic sheath heating is the dominant heating mechanism at low pressures for radio frequency (RF) capacitive discharges. It produces an electron energy probability distribution function (EEPF) that approximates a two-temperature Maxwellian, as seen in both experiments and numerical simulations. We have used the fundamental kinetic equation to obtain a space- and time-averaged kinetic equation. We assume that electrons with the x component kinetic energy lower than a certain threshold /spl Phi/ are prevented from interacting with the sheath heating fields. With these approximations and either a knowledge of the central density or an ansatz on /spl Phi/, we obtain a self-consistent solution for the quasiequilibrium discharge parameters valid for low pressures in argon. The results are compared to those found in experiments, yielding reasonable agreement.