Numerical 3D simulation of surface wave excitation in planar-type plasma processing device with a corrugated dielectric plate

This article is devoted to presenting results of FDTD (finite difference time domain) simulation of surface waves excited in planar overdense plasmas, with the emphasis on the effect of the corrugated dielectric-plate surface on the excited wave field profile. Computation has been made for different conditions of electron density and coupling structure. We found that fields computed under corrugated dielectric plate are more intense and spread uniformly all over the plasma dielectric interface. Optimal corrugation dimensions for the best uniform field pattern were found to be 5 mm for corrugation depth d and 10 mm for corrugation pitch. Expanding the same technique to wider electron density ranges and coupling structures is expected to provide a tool for computer-aided design of optimal dielectric surface morphology. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.