Effect of collisions on the plasma sheath in the presence of an inhomogeneous magnetic field

Abstract

A low-pressure magnetized plasma is studied to find out the dependency of sheath properties on ion-neutral collisions in the presence of a gradient magnetic field. A single fluid hydrodynamic model is considered and the system of equations is solved numerically. The electrons are assumed to follow Boltzmann relation. The study reveals that the width of the plasma sheath expands and presheath length decreases with collisions. The ion-neutral collisions and gradient magnetic field restrict the ions to move towards the wall. The movement of the ions towards the wall can be controlled by choosing a suitable configuration of the magnetic field and ion-neutral collision frequency. The outcome of the study is supposed to help to understand the complex dynamics of ions in plasma confinement and plasma processing of materials.