Erosion structures on cathodes arced in vacuum

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Abstract
An analysis is presented of the structural changes which occur on cathode surfaces arced in vacuum. Cadmium, copper, molybdenum and tungsten cathodes carrying currents up to a few hundred amps showed a variety of erosion patterns which have been interpreted as representing a number of stages with different degrees of erosion. Cathode spots moving either randomly or under the influence of an external magnetic field produce basically the same erosion pattern. This pattern consists of craters varying in size from less than one micrometre up to several micrometres. A three-dimensional analysis of a crater-structure is given and quantitative information is obtained on crater size distributions and current densities for different metals. The influence of surface contamination on cathode tracking is pronounced.

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