Gas-Discharge Sources with Charged-Particle Emission from the Plasma of a Hollow-Cathode Glow Discharge

The peculiarities of a magnetron discharge with a cold hollow cathode and an uncooled rod cathode are considered. It is shown that the thermionic emission of the rod cathode heated in the discharge makes a major contribution to the discharge characteristics and to the emissivity of the gas-discharge plasma and that a glow discharge can gradually change to the diffusion mode of operation of an arc discharge. Ion and electron sources with improved physical characteristics and general technical data are described. It has been demonstrated that the electrode structure of a hollow-cathode magnetron discharge holds promise not only as an emitting-plasma generator, but also as a source of atomic hydrogen and atomic flux of a consumable (sputtered and evaporated) rod cathode.     

Transition of Discharge Mode of a Local Hollow Cathode Discharge

The discharge characteristics of hollow cathode discharge in argon in a cylindrical cavity are investigated experi- mentally. The voltage-current （V - I） characteristics and the light emission are measured. It is found that the discharge plasma is localized inside the hollow cavity, with an extensive Faraday dark space between the cathode and the anode. The discharge develops from predischarge to abnormal glow discharge, the hollow cathode effect （HCE） and a hybrid mode as the discharge current increases. The onset of the HCE is found for the first time by the transition from abnormal glow discharge together with a significant decrease in the slope of the V - I curve which shows a positive differential resistivity. The voltage increases proportionally with the current when the HCE is reached.     

Characteristics of a reflex discharge with a box-shaped cathode cavity and emission properties of the discharge plasma

A new geometrical relationship between the shape and dimensions of the cathode cavity of a reflex discharge with a cold hollow cathode is determined. The discharge characteristics and the emission properties of the discharge plasma are investigated experimentally. The conditions are determined for generating a cathode plasma that is highly inhomogeneous in the radial direction and the possibility of creating such a plasma is demonstrated. The existence of a stationary double electric layer with a potential drop of 14–16 V in the aperture of the cathode cavity is revealed. Specific features of the longitudinal extraction of plasma ions through the wall layer of the reflex and hollow cathodes are considered.     

Breakdown formation in a transient hollow cathode discharge-astatistical study

Discharge formation at low pressure is found to be greatly influenced in the presence of a suitable hollow cathode region. The formation of a moving virtual anode which extends the anode potential to within the hollow cathode region is thought to be responsible for the enhanced ionization growth which subsequently leads to gas breakdown. In this paper, the spatial evolution of the local potential in the discharge region of a pulsed hollow cathode discharge has been measured in a range of pressures with two different cathode apertures. An extensive data set has been collected and analyzed using a statistical technique. From the characteristic of the statistical distribution of the data, unique features associated with the role of hollow cathode at the different stages of discharge formation have been identified. It was found that the influence of the hollow cathode region is strongest in the start of ionization growth and in the final change over to high current breakdown     

Operational characteristics of a plasma cathode with a grid stabilization in a two-stage ion source

The discharge characteristics and the parameters of the cathode plasma in a two-stage ion source with a grid plasma cathode and a magnetic trap in the anode region are investigated. It is shown that an increase in the gas pressure and the accompanying increase in the reverse ion current in the bipolar diode between the cathode and anode plasmas lead to an increase in the cathode plasma potential and a transition of the cathode into the regime of electron emission from the open plasma boundary. The dependence of the ion current extracted from the anode plasma on the area of the exit aperture of the hollow cathode and the mesh size of the grid plasma cathode is explained. The conditions at which the ion emission current from the anode plasma is maximum are determined. The potential difference at the bipolar diode is measured by using the probe method. It is shown that, when the gas pressures reaches a critical value determined by the mesh size of the grid plasma cathode, the discharge passes into a contracted operating mode, in which the ion current extracted from the anode plasma decreases severalfold.     

Electron sources with a plasma emitter based on discharge reflection with a hollow cathode

An examination is made of the physical processes in electron sources with plasma emitter based on discharge reflection with a hollow cathode. The mechanisms of ionization of the gas in the cavity are studied theoretically. Calculations are made of the plasma parameters in the intercathode discharge space, taking into account features of the particle motion in the crossed electric and magnetic fields. It is shown that the emission canal has an important effect on the source characteristics. An analysis is made of the features of primary shaping of the beam. Experience in the practical application of the electron sources is described.Tomsk Institute of Automatic Control Systems and Radioelectronics. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 5, pp. 5–23, May, 1992.     

Electron Energy Distribution and Optical Characteristics of a Hollow Cathode Discharge

A model is proposed for the formation of the electron energy distribution in a hollow cathode discharge. On the basis of this model, an integral equation has been derived to calculate the electron distribution function over the entire cathode cavity volume. The equation holds true for both the isotropic distribution, and the case when the local distribution function is anisotropic. Solutions of the kinetic equation obtained are presented, for electron energies over 2–3 eV and up to the cathode fall potential. It is shown that the electron energy distribution function in this interval determines the optical characteristics of the hollow cathode discharge. A comparison is given of the calculated and measured radiation powers for the cases of the hollow cathode discharge in xenon and carbon dioxide. The discrepancy between the theoretical and experimental data does not exceed 20%.     

The Role of High-Velocity Electrons in a Hollow-Cathode Discharge

In this paper, the features of a low-pressure discharge in a hollow cathode are considered. It has been shown that a free mode can be realized with a double electric layer at the cathode and high density of the current of high-velocity electrons in the discharge bulk, considerably exceeding the current density at the cathode. In this case, the rate of ionization by high-velocity electrons considerably exceeds the rate of ionization by plasma electrons.     

Glow discharge with an annular hollow cathode

A discharge system with peripheral discharge chambers (Penning cells) and common hollow cathode with only one cell supplied with power is studied. It is shown that a jumpwise transition from a dark discharge to a glow discharge is accompanied by the penetration of plasma into the hollow cathode.     

Hollow cathode fall field strength measured by Doppler-free two-photon optogalvanic spectroscopy via Stark splitting of the 2S level of hydrogen

It has recently been demonstrated that Doppler-free two-photon optogalvanic spectroscopy is very well suited to measure the strong electric field strength (0.4 kV/cm to 4 kV/cm) present in the cathode fall of hollow cathode discharges, via the Stark splitting of the 2S level of atomic hydrogen and its isotopes. Based on an improved reliability and precision of the measurements, the aim of the present study is to analyze more deeply the dependence of the cathode fall behaviour for a hydrogen discharge on the usual discharge parameters like gas pressure and discharge current; and for changes of the discharge geometry using two different cathode diameters of 10 mm and 15 mm.     

Analysis of a hollow-cathode reflex discharge in a hydrocarbon flow

Variation of parameters of a reflex discharge with a hollow cathode operating continuously in propane with a flow rate of 1.3–5.6 (m³ mPa)/s and a discharge current of 0.1–0.4 A is analyzed. It is shown that for a hydrocarbon flow rate of 2.4 (m³ mPa)/s and higher, an increase in the discharge voltage takes place after a time interval depending on the discharge current and gas pressure; this is explained by the formation of coating of the dissociation products of hydrocarbon molecules on the electrodes of the discharge chamber. An increase in the thickness of the carbon coating of the cathodes with time and their charging with ions lead to electric breakdown of coatings and the formation of cathode spots. The oscillograms of the discharge current and voltage indicate a short-term transformation of the glow discharge into the arc discharge. The energy spectra of ions emerging from the discharge are measured, and the effect of the discharge current and the gas flow rate on the energy spread of ions is analyzed. The operation time of the discharge in hydrocarbon after which the cleaning of the discharge chamber is required is determined. The possibility of using an ion source based on the reflex discharge with a hollow cathode for technological purposes is established.     

Hollow cathode magnetron discharge

A discharge formed in a cylindrical coaxial diode with a cylindrical mesh cathode, placed in an axial magnetic field, is reported. Spectroscopic and other characteristic features of the discharge made with and without the magnetic field, are similar to those of the hollow cathode discharge.     

Emission and absorption studies of copper vapor ejected from a pulsed hollow cathode discharge

The time evolution of the Cu vapor cloud formed outside a hollow cathode during pulsed operation was probed using spectral absorption and emission methods. The absorption studies were carried out using a second Cu discharge as a light source, and the emission from the vapor cloud was excited with an auxiliary electrode placed at right angles to the cathode axis. The experimental results indicate the formation of an extended region of Cu vapor ejected from the hollow cathode, of density comparable to that produced inside the cathode cavity and with persistence times up to 1 ms using 200-μsec discharge pulses. The experiments provide additional insight into the mechanisms governing the action of a pulsed, hollow cathode discharge.     

Penetration of a low-pressure reflex-discharge plasma into a hollow electrode

It is shown experimentally that the plasma of a hollow-cathode reflex discharge is characterized by a nonequilibrium electron velocity distribution. The parameters of the electron distribution, which is approximated by a superposition of two Maxwellian distributions with different temperatures, are estimated. The penetration of the discharge plasma into the hollow cathode at various cathode potentials and a gas pressure of ∼10^{\t− 2} Pa is studied. It is shown that the plasma parameters in the hollow electrode depend not only on the parameters of the reflex-discharge plasma, but also on the magnitude and configuration of the magnetic and electric fields in the plasma expansion region. It is shown that the plasma penetration can be accompanied by quasineutrality violation and the formation of space-charge double layers. Experiments confirm that the ion current from the nonequilibrium plasma exceeds the Bohm current.     

Non-local model of hollow cathode and glow discharge

A general form of the non-local equation for an ionization source in glow discharge and hollow cathode 3D-simulation is formulated. It is a fundamental equation in hollow cathode theory, which allows formulation of a complete set of field equations for a self-consistent problem in a stationary glow discharge and hollow cathode. It enables us to describe the region of negative glow and the hollow cathode effect and compare calculation results of electrical dependencies (pressure-voltage) with experimental data, – under conditions of gradual appearance of the hollow cathode effect.     

Optogalvanic Effects in a Hollow Cathode Discharge at Irradiation with its Original Spectrum

An evaluation is made and some experiments are carried out which prove the possibility of optogalvanic effect appearing in experiments using hollow cathode discharge not only when one hollow cathode discharge is irradiated by another but also in the simplest possibly experimental scheme where only one hollow cathode discharge plays simultaneously the role of an emitter and an irradiator.     

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开发了氮空心阴极放电PIC/MC二维自洽模型。研究了N2传统空心阴极向微空心阴极放电转变过程中电势和电场的变化。结果表明,不同尺寸的空心阴极放电的电势及电场分布规律几乎类似,但空心阴极孔径减小且气压增加时,电场近似线性增加;典型微空心阴极电场比传统空心阴极放电电场约大3个量级;微空心阴极放电产生的电子,氮分子离子和氮原子离子的密度比传统空心阴极放电约大3个量级,且微空心阴极放电中,N2+密度比N+密度大8倍以上。     

流体-亚稳态原子传输混合模型模拟空心阴极放电特性

利用流体-亚稳态原子传输混合模型研究了氩气矩形空心阴极放电稳态时的参数. 数值计算得到了压强为10 Torr时的电势、电子、离子和亚稳态氩原子密度以及电子平均能量的分布. 结果表明电子和离子密度峰值为4.7×10¹² cm^-3, 亚稳态原子密度峰值为2.1×10¹³ cm^-3. 本文同时对流体-亚稳态原子传输混合模型和单一流体模型模拟得到的放电参数进行了比较. 结果表明, 分步电离是新电子产生的重要来源, 亚稳态原子对空心阴极放电特性有重要影响. 与单一流体模型相比, 混合模型计算得到的电子密度升高, 阴极鞘层宽度和电子平均能量降低. 关键词： 空心阴极放电 流体-亚稳态原子传输模型 电子密度 分步电离     

Calculation of geometrical changes in cylindrical copper hollow cathodes due to sputtering

To fine the reasons for the distortion of a cylindrical hollow cathode into a row of hollow spheres, the system of diffusion equations for the three most important types of particles in the hollow cathode discharge is solved, taking into consideration the essential source terms. In qualitative agreement with the experiments, the results show inhomogeneities of the cathode erosion at the cathode edges and at the boundary between hollow cathode discharge and normal glow discharge areas.     

High current electron beam generation in a vacuum transient hollowcathode discharge

Experimental observations are presented of prebreakdown electron beam generation in a transient hollow cathode discharge (THCD) in a vacuum. The discharge driver consists of a 400-kV maximum voltage, 25-nF Marx operated at 450-J stored energy coupled to a 120-ns, 1.5-Ω coaxial line. Electron beams with peak currents up to tens of kA are observed when a pulsed Nd:YAG laser is used to produce a plasma at the back of the cathode surface, inside the hollow cathode region (HCR). It is found that a plasma density of a few 10¹⁸ cm^-3 in a volume of a few mm³ is required to generate intense electron beams. Optimal conditions are determined by varying the position of the laser focal spot inside the HCR and the time delay between the laser and the applied voltage. The main features of the electron beams are similar to those observed in conventional THCD at pressures in the 10-200 mtorr range