Nonlinear radio-frequency response of a non-uniform plasma slab-condenser system with realistic density and velocity profiles

The nonlinear behaviour of a realistic one-dimensional bounded plasma (specifically, the classical plasma slab-condenser system) is computed by an iterative perturbation method. The results indicate, somewhat unexpectedly, that the influence of the r.f. field on the static density profile and on the resonance spectrum is much smaller than would have been inferred from a previous analysis of an unbounded plasma. However, this approach is inherently limited by the fact that, even for not too high r.f. fields, the electron density perturbations can become of the same order of magnitude as the static density in the tenuous plasma sheath near the wall. The resonance curves obtained with this sophisticated model show quite remarkable agreement with existing experimental data.