Radio-frequency sheath-plasma interactions with magnetic field tangency points along the sheath surface

Computer simulations of radio-frequency (RF) waves propagating across a two-dimensional (2D) magnetic field into a conducting boundary are described. The boundary condition for the RF fields at the metal surface leads to the formation of an RF sheath, which has previously been studied in one-dimensional models. In this 2D study, it is found that rapid variation of conditions along the sheath surface promote coupling of the incident RF branch (either fast or slow wave) to a short-scale-length sheath-plasma wave (SPW). The SPW propagates along the sheath surface in a particular direction dictated by the orientation of the magnetic field with respect to the surface, and the wave energy in the SPW accumulates near places where the background magnetic field is tangent to the surface