Experiments to sort out theoretical models concerning the area ratio law for plasma reactors

For a RF plasma reactor with parallel electrodes, the area ratio law is generally expressed as (V) over bar(1)/(V) over bar(2) = (A(2)/A(1))(n), where A(1) and A(2) are the respective areas of the active and the earthed electrodes, (V) over bar(1) and (V) over bar(2) being the corresponding voltage drops through the sheath. In this paper, some theoretical models concerning this law are briefly presented. Using an experimental confinement of argon and nitrogen plasmas, an estimation of the exponent n for a capacitively coupled RF discharge and a comparison among these models are presented.