Meige, AO'Connell, DGans, TBoswell, Roderick2015-12-072015-12-070093-3813http://hdl.handle.net/1885/24445Plasma ionization in the low-pressure operation regime (< 5 Pa) of RF capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs) is governed by a complex interplay of various mechanisms, such as field reversal, sheath expansion, and wave-particle interactions. In a previous paper, it was shown that experimental observations in a hydrogen CCP operated at 13.56 MHz are qualitatively well described in a 1-D symmetrical particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. In this paper, a spherical asymmetrical PIC simulation that is closer to the conditions of the highly asymmetrical experimental device is used to simulate a low-pressure neon CCP operated at 2 MHz. The results show a similar behavior, with pronounced ionization through field reversal, sheath expansion, and wave-particle interactions, and can be exploited for more accurate quantitative comparisons with experimental observations.Keywords: Chlorine compounds; Excitons; Flow interactions; Hydrogen; Inductively coupled plasma; Inert gases; Ion beams; Ionization; Neon; Nonmetals; Particle beam dynamics; Particle interactions; Plasmas; Signal interference; Wave plasma interactions; Biological s Biological system modeling; Capacitively coupled plasma (CCP); Discharges; Electrodes; Field reversal; Heating; Integrated circuit modeling; Ionization; particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation; Plasmas; Radio frequency; RF; Wave particle interaction200810.1109/TPS.2008.9268332015-12-07