Electropositive core in electronegative magnetized capacitive radio frequency plasmas

Abstract The magnetized drift-ambipolar (‘m-DA’) electron power absorption mode and a sequence of structural transitions, including the formation of an electropositive core where the electron density is much higher than the negative ion density, are identified in a magnetized capacitive Radio-Frequency (RF) plasma of a strongly electronegative gas, CF 4 . The m-DA mode is caused by a magnetic enhancement of the bulk electric field due to the attenuation of the electron transport and plasma conductivity across the magnetic field. This leads to the formation of ionization maxima at distinct axial positions and a local trapping of electrons by the magnetic field as a function of its strength.