Theory of Electrostatic Probes in a Low-Density Plasma

The theory of sperical and cylindrical probes immersed in plasmas of such low density that collisions can be neglected is formulated. The appropriate Boltzmann equation is solved, yielding the particle density and flux as functionals of the electrostatic potential, the situation in the body of the plasma, and the properties of the probe. This information when inserted in Poisson's equation serves to determine the potential, and hence the probe characteristic. No a priori separation into sheath and plasma regions is required. Though amenable to a determination of the full probe characteristic, the method is applied in detail and numerical results are presented only for the collection of monoenergetic ions, for the case of negligible electron current. These results indicate that the potential is not so insensitive to ion energy as has been believed, and that if the probe radius is sufficiently small, there enters the possibility of a class of ions which are trapped near the probe in troughs of the effective radial potential energy. The population of these trapped ions is determined by collisions, however infrequent. It is difficult to calculate, and conceivably can have a marked effect on the local potential.