A self-consistent modelling and simulation technique of RF nonequilibrium plasmas using a Monte Carlo method is presented. Under the condition that the product of the gas pressure and the gap length is small and/or the local electric field changes rapidly, as is commonly the case with RF plasmas, the electron energy distribution shows a nonequilibrium effect against the local electric field. The kinetics of electrons and ions is calculated by a Monte Carlo method which enables the authors to deal fully with the nonequilibrium effect. The electric field in the plasma is self-consistently determined by solving Poisson's equation. With a particle model, the statistical fluctuation tends to be large in the sheath in which the number densities of electrons and ions are low. A scaling technique which enables the authors to diminish the fluctuation, and therefore the instability of the simulation is used. The simulation method is applied to an RF plasma in an He-like model gas and the results suggest that this model can adequately simulate RF plasmas.

A self-consistent modelling and simulation technique of rf non-equilibrium plasmas using a Monte Carlo method is presented. In the model, the kinetics of electrons and ions is calculated by a Monte Carlo method which enables us to incorporate the non-equilibrium effect of electron energy distribution against the electric field. This effect may be important under the condition that the product of the gas pressure and the gap length is small and/or the electric field changes rapidly, as commonly seen with rf non-equilibrium plasmas. The electric field in plasma is self-consistently determined by solving Poisson's equation. The technique is applied to rf plasmas in Ar gas and the results suggest that the present model can adequately simulate rf plasmas.

No abstract