Manipulation of dust particles in RF+DC discharge

Abstract

In this study, we conducted experiments and kinetic modeling on the basis of particle-in-cell method to obtain the equilibrium position of the dust particles in the combined radio-frequency discharge upon application of DC. The calculation results are compared with experimental data. A general good agreement between experimental and calculated values for the levitation height of all data sets at different gas pressures and inter electrode length. This agreement confirms that the simulation method, as well as the charging and force balance models adopted in the work describe the plasma and dust system considerably well. The results show that the external DC bias provides control over the position of the dust layer