Electron surface waves in a nonuniform plasma slab

Electron surface waves in a nonuniform, metal bound, thermal plasma slab have been analyzed and detected. Measurements of the dispersion relations of these waves, as well as the eigenstructure of the perturbed electron density, reveal a spectrum of waves with frequencies above and below the peak electron plasma frequency in the slab. These waves are analogous to the Gould-Trivelpiece and Tonks-Dattner waves found in dielectric bound plasma columns. Measurements have been made using particle-in-cell simulation of an argon plasma and are compared with linear fluid theory in which the adiabatic approximation is made for the perturbed pressure. The presence of the metal boundary leads to regions near the plasma sheaths in which the fluid theory breaks down; we explore the differences between theory and measurement in this region. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.