Relaxation oscillations due to plasma instabilities at frequencies ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz have been observed in various types of plasma processing discharges.Relaxation oscillations have been observed in electropositive capacitive discharges between a powered anode and a metallic chamber whose periphery iS grounded through a slot with dielectric spacers.The oscillations of time-varying optical emission from the main discharge chamber show,for example,a high-frequency (～40 kHz) relaxation oscillation at 13.33Pa,with an absorbed power being nearly the peripheral breakdown power,and a low-frequency (～3 Hz) oscillation,with an even higher absorbed power.The high-frequency oscillation is found to ignite plasma in the slot,but usually not in the peripheral chamber.The kilohertz oscillations are modelled using an electromagnetic model of the slot impedance,coupled to a circuit analysis of the system including the matching network.The model results are in general agreement with the experimental observations,and indicate a variety of behaviours dependent on the matching conditions.In low-pressure inductive discharges,oscillations appear in the transition between low-density capacitively driven and high-density inductively driven discharges when attaching gases such as SF6 and Ar/SF6 mixtures are used.Oscillations of charged particles,plasma potential,and light,at frequencies ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz,are seen for gas pressures between 0.133 Pa and 13.33 Pa and discharge powers in a range of 75-1200 W.The region of instability increases as the plasma becomes more electronegative,and the frequency of plasma oscillation increases as the power,pressure,and gas flow rate increase.A volume-averaged (global) model of the kilohertz instability has been developed;the results obtained from the model agree well with the experimental observations.