Parametric investigation of the sheath potential in a low-frequency rf discharge

The interdependence of the sheath potential, sheath thickness, electron density, and electron temperature as a function of the gas pressure and rf voltage is examined experimentally in a parallel-plate discharge. It is found that the key to the understanding of the complex behavior of the discharge lies in the understanding of the collective responses of these plasma parameters. We have also presented a simple Langmuir probe method for determining the sheath thickness