Investigation of the expanding plasma of an anodic vacuum arc
- 15 April 1990
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Applied Physics
- Vol. 67 (8) , 3625-3629
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.345315
Abstract
An aluminum plasma is produced by an anodic vacuum arc (25 A, 17 V) with a consumable anode. The plasma expands from the anode to the walls and is investigated by Langmuir probes, a quadrupole mass spectrometer, a retarding field ion energy analyzer, and a quartz-crystal oscillator for mass flow detection. The electron density ranges within 2×1015–3×1017 m−3 and the electron temperature within 0.4–0.9 eV. At a target, ion fluxes of 1.5×1019–8×1020 m−2 s−1 and total particle fluxes of 3×1020–4×1021 m−2 s−1 are measured. The ions are accelerated in the expanding plasma towards the target and gain a few eV. By a simple collisionless transport model of the expanding plasma, the plasma potential and floating potential are calculated and compared with experimental data.This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- The anodic vacuum arc. II. Experimental study of arc plasmaJournal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, 1988
- The anodic vacuum arc. I. Basic construction and phenomenologyJournal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, 1988
- A classical model for multiple-electron capture in slow collisions of highly charged ions with atomsJournal of Physics B: Atomic and Molecular Physics, 1986
- A Review of Anode Phenomena in Vacuum ArcsIEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 1985
- Determination and Shaping of the Ion-Velocity Distribution Function in a Single-Ended Q MachinePhysics of Fluids, 1971