Thermal-resistive current filamentation in the cathode plasma of a pinch-reflex diode
- 1 June 1983
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Applied Physics
- Vol. 54 (6) , 3043-3048
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.332508
Abstract
Electron current flow drawn off a hollow cylindrical cathode in a pinch-reflex ion diode is observed to have a filamentary structure. Such filamentation can lead to nonuniform anode turn on and ion emission. Consequently, ion beam brightness is degraded. In this context a purely growing thermal-resistive instability in the cathode plasma is examined. The instability causes current filamentation and grows on a time scale comparable to the electron–ion energy equilibration time. Electron inelastic collisions have a stabilizing influence on the instability.This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
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