Experimental study of the effect of nitrogen on titanium-arccathode erosion |
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Authors: | Kim GE Meunier J-L Ajersch F |
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Institution: | Dept. of Chem. Eng., McGill Univ., Montreal, Que. ; |
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Abstract: | Experimental data on the dependence of titanium erosion rate on cathode temperature, Ar, and N2 pressure from vacuum to 1 torr and arc motion are presented. Erosion rate is found to decrease with conditions that promote cathode poisoning/contamination. Higher cathode temperatures result in enhanced nitriding (poisoning), leading to a reduced erosion rate. A critical nitrogen pressure (0.001 torr) exists where a sharp drop in erosion is measured. Steered arcs show lower erosion rate values of 38 and 15 μg/C for argon and nitrogen, when compared to random arc values of 45 and 35 μg/C. Erosion rate studies on TiN-coated cathodes show a low value of around 22 μg/C |
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