Dust Charging in the Sheath of an Electronegative Plasma

We theoretically investigate the dust charging in the sheath of an electronegative plasma, by using a single dust grain model based on a previous sheath structure Chin. Phys. Lett 20 (2003) 1537 in which cold positive ions and hot negative ions have been assumed. It is found that dust grains are first charged negatively at the sheath edge and then begin to be charged positively in the sheath. Moreover, both the temperature ratio of electrons to negative ions and the density ratio of negative ions to positive ions have effects on the neutral point of the dust charge.