Calculation of two-dimensional plasma sheath with application to radial dust oscillations

Dust particles are often confined radially in a plasma potential well above a cylindrical depression in an otherwise flat electrode. The structure of the two-dimensional, time-independent sheath is computed for this geometry using cold, collisionless ions and Boltzmann electrons. A depression with a radius of 16 Debye lengths and a depth of 2 Debye lengths is modeled for negative electrode biases from 6 to 32 times the electron temperature. The normalized radial oscillation frequency for a dust particle in the well is computed from the sheath potential structure. The model results agree qualitatively with the experimental measurements. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.