A revised theoretical model of vacuum arc spot plasmas

The quasi-stationary hemispherical expansion of the cathodic plasma in vacuum arcs can be modeled with hydrodynamic two-fluid equations. In any case, the state of the plasma is determined by the only variable (I/r)^2/5 (with current I , distance r). In order to avoid some deficiencies of the model (as published) and to investigate more carefully the dependence of the plasma parameters on the arc current, the known analytic solution to the problem is improved by taking into consideration the variability of the Coulomb logarithm and the dependence of the boundary conditions on I. These effects are treated separately. Examples are used to illustrate the new results, with particular emphasis on ion acceleration. The influence of the above factors turns out to be rather unimportant. Quantitatively, they cause some shifts, but no qualitative change of the basic behavior of the plasma is seen     

Two-dimensional models of expanding vacuum arc plasmas

Multifluid equations describing the plasma of vacuum arcs expanding anisotropically from a cathode spot are given and discussed. Some first and preliminary results from an approximate analytical integration of such a system of equations, based on the representation of all plasma parameters by asymptotic power series, are presented and evaluated. Though the dependence of the plasma parameters on the direction (angle ϑ) is weak, the inclusion of angular terms and angular equations changes some results significantly, compared with the experiences from usually 1-D models. While the basic radial dependence (r) of the terms ~r^-2k/5, k=0,1,2..., remains the same as in 1-D theories, we now get an angular dependence ~ϑ² of the parameters in a first approximation, with positive factors, i.e., a flattening of the whole plasma distribution. However, with analytical solutions of higher flexibility, cos-like distributions are possible as well. The final kinetic energy of the plasma ions in the case of Cu arc spots is caused by the electric field within the plasma (contributing approximately 27%), the ion pressure gradient (~24%), and the electron-ion friction (plasma resistivity, ~49%) in directions near to the discharge axis. Again, similar to the results from 1-D models. With an approach to the cathode surface (ϑ→π/2), the plasma flow becomes ambipolar. Finally, some further possibilities which are available with the help of this model are discussed     

Macroparticle filtering of high-current vacuum arc plasmas

The transport of vacuum arc plasmas through a 90° curved magnetic macroparticle filter was investigated using a high-current pulsed arc source with a carbon cathode. The peak arc current was in the kiloampere range, exceeding considerably the level of what has been reported in the literature. The main question investigated was whether magnetic macroparticle filters could be scaled up while maintaining the transport efficiency of small filters. In front of the cathode, we found that arc current dependent total ion saturation currents were in the range from 10% to 23% of the arc current. The best relative transmission was 25% (time integrated output/time integrated input) at a duct wall bias of 12.5 V and at an axial magnetic field of about 100 mT. The measured relative transmission of the used high-current arrangement is comparable to what has been observed with other low-current filters. The absolute measurable ion saturation currents at the filter exit reached 70 A at an arc current of about 1000 A     

Ion charge state distributions of alloy-cathode vacuum arc plasmas

Ion charge state distributions (CSD's) of alloy-cathode vacuum arc plasmas have been calculated under the assumption that thermodynamic equilibrium is valid in the vicinity of the cathode spot, and equilibrium CSD's “freeze” when the plasma is rapidly expanding. In this way, experimental data of titanium-hafnium alloy-cathode plasmas have been simulated using a system of Saha equations generalized for multiple elements. It was found that the CSD's of titanium and hafnium freeze approximately at the same plasma temperature and density. The freezing parameters depend slightly on the plasma composition. For the example considered, freezing occurs at temperature of T=3.0-3.8 eV and a total heavy particle density of order 10²⁵m^-3     

A physical model of the low-current-density vacuum arc

A one-dimensional (1-D) physical model of the low-current-density steady-state vacuum arc is proposed. The model is based on the continuity equations for ions and electrons and the energy balance for the discharge system; the electric potential distribution in the discharge gap is assumed to be nonmonotonic. It is supposed that the ion current at the cathode is generated within the cathode potential fall region due to the ionization of the evaporated atoms by the plasma thermal electrons having Boltzmann's energy distribution. The model offers a satisfactory explanation for the principal regularities of a hot-cathode vacuum arc with diffuse attachment of the current. The applicability of the model proposed to the explanation of some processes occurring in a vacuum arc, such as the flow of fast ions toward the anode, the current cutoffs and voltage bursts, and the backward motion of a cathode spot in a transverse magnetic field is discussed     

脉冲金属氢化物真空弧放电等离子体发射光谱特性

利用发射光谱方法对真空弧离子源放电等离子体特性进行了诊断。同时,基于局域热力学平衡等离子体的发射光谱理论,建立了等离子体的发射光谱拟合模型,对真空弧放电等离子体光谱进行了分析。针对TiH真空弧离子源,分别对330~340 nm与498~503 nm范围内Ti+离子与Ti原子的发射光谱进行了对比拟合,获得了较好的符合度,解决了传统Boltzmann斜率法计算等离子体温度需要孤立的不受附近谱线干扰的线状光谱的困难。最后,利用该方法计算了真空弧离子源在不同放电条件下的等离子体发射光谱、等离子体密度与温度参数。结果表明,TiH真空弧放电等离子体温度在1 eV左右,同时,放电所产生的氢原子要远远大于金属原子,并且随着真空弧离子源馈入功率的增加,TiH电极中解吸附出来的氢比蒸发出来的金属增加得更多,这有利于TiH离子源在中子发生器方面的应用。     

含氢电极脉冲放电等离子体特性诊断

利用飞行时间质谱法诊断了含氢电极脉冲真空弧离子源放电等离子体成分、离子电荷状态及离子扩散速度等特性.实验结果表明,含氢电极脉冲真空弧离子源放电等离子体的离子成分主要由H+,Ti+,Ti2+和Ti3+组成,其中Ti2+占主要部分.当放电电流为40～80 A时,Ti离子的平均电荷数在1.95～2.13之间,随着放电电流的增...     

含氢电极脉冲放电等离子体特性诊断

利用飞行时间质谱法诊断了含氢电极脉冲真空弧离子源放电等离子体成分、离子电荷状态及离子扩散速度等特性。实验结果表明,含氢电极脉冲真空弧离子源放电等离子体的离子成分主要由H+,Ti+,Ti2+和Ti3+组成,其中Ti2+占主要部分。当放电电流为40～80 A时,Ti离子的平均电荷数在1.95～2.13之间,随着放电电流的增大,平均电荷数也会增加。同时诊断了不同离子的扩散速度,其值均在104 m/s量级,但不同离子的扩散速度有所不同。     

Effect of residual gas on the ion charge distribution in vacuum arc discharge plasmas

A magnetic mass analyzer and time-of-flight mass spectrometer are used to study the effect of the pressure and type of residual gas on the ion charge distribution in the plasma of an arc discharge with a cathode spot. The possibility of ionizing a substantial fraction of the gas atoms in this type of discharge is pointed out. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 24–28 (September 1998)     

A model for a uniform steady-state vacuum arc with a hot anode

A model is formulated and evaluated for a Uniform electrical discharge sustained in vapor evaporated from an arc-heated anode. The plasma potential is positive with respect to both the cathode and anode. For a Cu anode, the anodic vapor dominates the plasma for current densities exceeding 8 kA/m². The anode heating potential is approximately 6.5 V, and the dominant cooling mechanism is evaporation for current densities exceeding 20 kA/m². Over the range 10 to 10000 kA/m², the electron density increases from 8×10¹⁷ to 5×10²³ m^-3, while the ionization fraction rises from 0.3% to 4%. At the lower end of this current range the electrical resistivity of 4 mΩ-m is determined primarily by electron-neutral collisions, while with increasing current the resistivity decreases to 0.7 mΩ-m, with electron-ion collisions contributing an equal share. This hot-anode vacuum arc may have potential for industrial application as a macroparticle-free high-deposition-rate coating source     

Application of vacuum arc cathode spot model to graphite cathode

A model of near-electrode processes is applied here to describe the behavior of cathode spots on graphite cathode in vacuum arc. The physical model is based on a kinetic treatment of cathode evaporation, electron emission from the cathode, and plasma production. The model consists of physical assumptions and a system of equations that are formulated in the paper. Spot parameters, such as cathode erosion rate, cathode potential drop, cathode surface temperature, current density, electric field, and plasma density, temperature, and velocity in the near-electrode region are calculated numerically. The calculation includes the dependence of spot parameters on spot current and spot lifetime. The variation of spot parameters as a function of spot lifetime are very strong at lifetimes shorter than 10 μs. The calculations indicate that Joule heating in the cathode body is significant, and may exceed cathode heating by the ion heat flux. Calculated spot parameters are compared with the corresponding experimental data for relatively low arc currents (<100 A) and their agreement is discussed     

Quasi-monochromatic measurements of homogeneous arc plasmas

The refined diagnostic information obtainable by high-order spectrometry is illustrated by the results of quantitative measurements of a few rotational lines of OH in the ultraviolet spectrum of water-vapor plasmas generated in a wall-stabilized arc. Because of the high spectral and spatial resolution achieved in end-on measurements, the emission and also the absorption coefficients pertaining to homogeneous arc regions were obtained directly from measured line spectra—although the absorption was not measured explicitly—leading to the occupation of the upper and the lower state for the transition. The gas temperature was determined from the halfwidth of the Doppler-broadened rotational lines. The measured resolving power of the spectrometer was of the order of 400,000 in these measurements.     

Ion emission from arc discharge plasmas

Results are presented from studies of the ion-emission properties of the anode plasmas of low-pressure contracted arc discharges and vacuum arcs. It is shown that creating a longitudinal magnetic field in the anode region of a discharge changes the plasma parameters significantly and facilitates a large increase in the ion current. Space charge limited ion current in a vacuum arc leads to a reduction in the noise level of the total ion current and of its components with charges of up to +3, while creating Penning discharge conditions ensures that ions of different gases can be generated in this discharge system at fractions as high as 90%, depending on the type of plasma forming gas.Institute of High-Current Electronics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vuzov, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 24–33, March, 1994.     

Electrical characterization of atmospheric pressure arc plasmas

The properties of atmospheric pressure arcs are investigated by means of electric exploration of plasma column and anode region. For the electrostatic probe technique, where the level of collisionality distorts the characteristic curve, data interpretation is difficult because no comprehensive underlying theory exists for the non-homogeneous electric arcs used in industry. Results are presented from an extended study of Langmuir probes applied to short, point-plane arcs. A multi-wire apparatus, operating for arc currents in the range 50-200 A is described and ion current densities and temperature maps are shown. The reduction of the probe determined temperature with respect to emission spectroscopy values is discussed and the cooling is ascribed to ion-electron recombination within the perturbation region formed around the probe. This region is investigated by means of emission spectroscopy and the extension found agrees both with numerical estimations and fast speed camera photographs. Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) partially coated wires can address data inversion problems and the role of arc flow directionality on charge capture and preliminary observations are shown. Charge capture and anode fall structure can be investigated using a split-anode technique. A prototype of a modified apparatus is described and preliminary results on the collected current are given.Received: 20 August 2003PACS: 52. Physics of plasmas and electric discharges - 52.80.Mg Arcs; sparks; lightning; atmospheric electricity - 52.70.-m Plasma diagnostic techniques and instrumentation     

New developments in processing cathodic arc plasmas

Filtering of plasmas by curved solenoidal ducts is well established as a method of removing macroparticles. By analyzing the interactions of planar probes with the drifting plasma of the cathodic arc, new insights have been obtained into the operation of these ducts. Theoretical modeling of these interactions suggests, and experiment confirms, that the use of a separate biased electrode on the inside of the duct gives enhanced transmission without drawing excessive electron current. Theoretical modeling of a negatively biased planar electrode lying parallel to the drift velocity as well as experiment both show that ions are captured effectively onto the electrode producing a macroparticle free film at good deposition rates. The application of pulsed high voltage to the substrate placed at the exit of the duct is treated theoretically, and a model is proposed which gives a good agreement with the experimental concentration profile for a silicon surface coated and simultaneously implanted with titanium     

Time dependence of vacuum arc parameters

Time-resolved investigations of the expanded plasma of vacuum arc cathode spots are described, including the study of the ion charge state distribution, the random cathode spot motion, and the crater formation. It was found that the ion charge state distribution changes over a timescale on the order of hundreds of microseconds. For the random spot motion two timescales were observed: a very short spot residence time of tens of nanoseconds which gives, combined with the step width, the diffusion parameter of the random motion, and a longer timescale on the order of 100 μs during which the diffusion parameter changes. Crater formation studies by scanning electron microscopy indicate the occurrence of larger craters at the end of crater chains. The existence of a timescale much longer than the elementary times for crater formation and spot residence can be explained by local heat accumulation     

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利用自行设计的快速移动静电探针对大气压下以氩气为工质的大尺度磁分散电弧等离子体进行诊断,分析了探针电压与电流的波形,绘制探针伏安特征曲线(U-I曲线),得到了发生器轴线方向等离子体波动特性以及电子温度沿轴线的变化趋势.发现等离子体发生器中心具有回流区,得到了电弧等离子体的大致体积.     

Space-charge-limited current of vacuum arc thruster

To optimize thrust performance, the expression of space-charge-limited current for vacuum arc thruster is derived from Poisson's equation. The commonly used ring-type and coaxial-type vacuum arc thrusters are simplified to the equivalent current sheet in planar geometry and cylindrical capacitor, respectively, for this calculation. Both the spatial distribution and peak magnitude of space-charge-limited current are given explicitly, together with their dependences on gap distance, applied voltage, charge number, and ion mass. For typical experimental parameters of the vacuum arc thruster, it is shown that the maximum current density drops significantly when the gap distance becomes large and grows when the applied voltage increases; moreover, a cathode material of lower atomic weight yields a higher current density. The expressions of total current for these two types of vacuum arc thruster are also presented. This work, to our best knowledge, is the first application of space-charge-limited current to the vacuum arc thruster and practically very interesting for engineering design.