Control of Electron Energy Distribution Functions by Current Waveform Tailoring in Inductively Coupled Radio Frequency Plasmas
Plasma Physics
2026-01-13 v1
Abstract
Based on two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations a novel approach towards Electron Energy Probability Function (EEPF) and plasma chemistry control by Current Waveform Tailoring (CWT) in the coil of inductively coupled discharges is proposed. Varying the shape of this current waveform provides electrical control of the dynamics of the electric field in the plasma. Using sawtooth instead of sinusoidal waveforms allows breaking and controlling the temporal symmetry of the electric field dynamics. In this way CWT allows controlling the EEPF, the ionization-to-excitation rate ratio, and the plasma chemistry.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.07386,
title = {Control of Electron Energy Distribution Functions by Current Waveform Tailoring in Inductively Coupled Radio Frequency Plasmas},
author = {Zhaoyu Chen and Zili Chen and Yu Wang and Jonas Giesekus and Wei Jiang and Yonghua Ding and Donghui Xia and Ya Zhang and Julian Schulze},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.07386},
year = {2026}
}