Influence of select discharge parameters on electric field transients triggered in collisionless very high frequency capacitive discharges

Self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations are carried out to investigate the effect of discharge voltage, driving frequency, and the extent of the electrode gap on the formation of electric field transients. The shape of the electron energy distribution function into the bulk plasma and the nature of the mode transition in plasma density are presented for the driving frequency range of 27.12 MHz to 80 MHz. The present results, taken in conjunction with our previous study [Sharma et al., Phys. Plasmas 23, 110701 (2016)] that only looked at the driving frequency dependence in collisionless capacitive Ar discharges, provide a comprehensive and detailed account of the dynamics of such discharges over a multiparameter operational space.