A cold-cathode hall plasma accelerator

The energy balance and the mechanism of discharge transport on the surface of a thermionic cathode in an arc discharge

“…According to the estimates of Dorodnov et al [5], because of this effect, the density j em of electron emission current from the cathode is almost twice the value of j eT .…”

“…However, the assumption of the decisive importance of TE in the transport of discharge on the surface of an arc cathode was not supported experimentally, because, along with the thermionic modes of cathode operation [3], conditions were registered in which the ratio S eT of the TE current calculated by the measured temperature of the cathode to the arc current turned out to be much less than unity, S eT ≅ 10 -4 -10 -1 . The deficit of TE, which came to be known as anomalously high electron emission (AHEE) [4], was observed under various conditions. The experiments of [4][5][6][7] involved the investigation of an arc discharge burning in an inert gas atmosphere on tungsten cathodes of different geometries such as loop, foil, and rod cathodes.…”

“…The deficit of TE, which came to be known as anomalously high electron emission (AHEE) [4], was observed under various conditions. The experiments of [4][5][6][7] involved the investigation of an arc discharge burning in an inert gas atmosphere on tungsten cathodes of different geometries such as loop, foil, and rod cathodes. The fraction of TE current at lower pressures (p g = = 0.67 to 2.67 kPa) was S eT ≅ 10 -4 -10 -3 .…”

“…A stationary discharge was experimentally investigated in [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. According to the data of [16], a TE deficit was observed in a pulsed arc as well.…”

Low-energy linear oxygen plasma source

“…The most common sources are end-hall and closed-drift anode-layer sources, [1][2][3] which are capable of delivering large currents of oxygen ions at moderate energies (typically some 100 eV). This level of energy is too high for certain applications because it could lead to excessive heat load on the substrate (like polymers), or to ion damage of crystalline materials, when the ion energy is greater than the displacement energy (the latter is typically 25-35 eV) 4 .…”