Modification of the Simon-Hoh Instability by the sheath effects in partially magnetized E x B plasmas

Effects of dissipation on the gradient drift modes in partially magnetized E x B plasmas are studied with emphasis on the sheath effects. It is shown that the dissipation induced instabilities driven by the density gradient and E x B drifts persist in conditions where the criteria for standard Simon-Hoh instability in E x B plasmas are not satisfied. Published by AIP Publishing.