Field-emission processes from a liquid–metal surface

Abstract

This work presents the generalization of experimental and theoretical investigations of different field-emission phenomena from liquid metal. The dynamics, emission ability, and stability of the processes are described for specific regimes of electric field. A description of the stability is possible if one considers the character of the conducting-fluid surface instabilities that always precede every type of field emission from liquid in a strong electric field. We investigated the electrohydrodynamic effects in liquid-metal emitters operating in the field-ion, field-electron, and explosive-emission modes in direct-current, nanosecond-pulse, and microsecond-pulse regimes.

Electromigration occurences and its effects on metallic surfaces submitted to high electromagnetic field: A novel approach to breakdown in accelerators

“…Once in this second regime, the emission is very stable and very bright. In this explosive regime, it has been shown that the surface is completely melted and forms so-called capillary wave instabilities [89,90]. A multitude of Taylor cones bulge out the surface, each one forming an array of emitting sources with nanometer sizes.…”

“…The most surprising and important feature is that explosive emission can be excited on liquid metal sources in RF field at field gradients tenfold smaller than in pulsed DC field [89,[93][94][95][96]. The origin of this phenomenon is unclear, although the most frequently proposed mechanism is pre-heating of the surface through field emission.…”

Electric Field Enhancing Artifacts as Precursors for Vacuum High-Voltage Breakdown

“…High-voltage breakdown may occur after thousands of seconds of reliable operation. Field emission (FE) from negatively charged electrodes is assumed one of the precursor processes for subsequent high-voltage discharge, e.g., in the form of explosive electron emission (EEE), see [1][2][3][4][5]. Under specific conditions, nanometer-sized field-emitting sites may start bearing a high current density, heat up, and generate vapor and later, high-density plasma near the cathode in a matter of nanoseconds.…”

Жидкометаллический полевой источник электронов на основе пористого GaP

“…Основным их достоинством является обратимость формы, так что в случае возникновения взрывных процессов исключается необратимый переход к заниженным эмиссионным характеристикам [16].…”