High current density spotless vacuum arc as a glow discharge

Author

Puchkarev, Victor F. ; Bochkarev, M.B.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Volume

25

Issue

4

fYear

1997

fDate

8/1/1997 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

593

Lastpage

597

Abstract

Vacuum discharge burning between a broad cathode and a point anode made of Mo, Cu, and Cd has been studied. This discharge operates in anode vapors and shows major arc characteristics, although no craters were examined on the cathode. The secondary electron emission is involved to explain current transport within the cathode region. This discharge is interpreted as a high density low voltage glow discharge. Having discussed the present and previous findings, the conclusion has been drawn that the secondary electron emission and “hump of potential” are dominant in the vacuum arc cathode spot

Keywords

anodes; cathodes; glow discharges; plasma transport processes; secondary electron emission; vacuum arcs; Cd; Cu; Mo; anode vapor; arc characteristics; broad cathode; cathode spot; current transport; discharge; glow discharge; high current density spotless vacuum arc; point anode; secondary electron emission; vacuum discharge burning; Anodes; Atomic measurements; Cathodes; Current density; Electric breakdown; Electron emission; Glow discharges; Surface cleaning; Vacuum arcs; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/27.640670

Filename

640670