Ion acoustic wave studies near the presheath/sheath boundary in a weakly collisional argon/xenon plasma

Ion acoustic wave (IAW) phase velocities are measured near the sheath/presheath boundary in a weakly collisional argon/xenon plasma. Wave profiles versus position are measured using a boxcar averager with a gate width of 30 ns and CW excitation at 50 or 75 kHz. Variable gate delays allow measurement of details of the wave close to the boundary. It is shown that the phase velocity at the presheath/sheath boundary is approximately twice the phase velocity in the bulk plasma for both argon and argon/xenon plasmas, in agreement with a recent calculation (Lee D et al 2007 Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 155004). This result indicates each ion's drift velocity at the boundary is equal to the IAW phase velocity in the bulk plasma.