Combined electrical, optical, and spectroscopic measurements have been used to determine the total flux, ion flux, particle flux, and neutral atom flux emitted from the cathode spot region of a copper vacuum arc of 80 A total current and 2-sec duration. It is found that the cathode erosion products consist predominantly of ions and particles, the emission of neutral atomic flux from the cathode being less than 1% of the total flux. The total and particle flux distributions are peaked in the direction of the cathode plane, whereas the ion-flux distribution is forward peaked. However, both ions and particles are detected in the cathode shadow, a result which is contrary to the hypothesis of purely collisionless transport of cathode erosion products. The neutral atom density measurements are consistent with a model assuming the source of the vapor to be evaporation in flight from the hot particles emitted from the cathode spot region. The size distribution of the particles has a maximum for particles of diameter in the range 0–1 μ.
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