Study of a High Power Hollow Cathode with Stable and Long Lifetime

Summary form only given. A hollow cathode which has extremely stable discharge characteristics has been developed. This is composed of the two separated lanthanum hexaboride (LaB₆) in the tube as the electron emitter. The way of design is very useful for stable discharge of hollow cathode. The hollow cathode is capable of producing 30 kW of power continuously with long lifetime. Because the generated plasma beam with the high temperature (5000 ~ 10000 C) from the hollow cathode passes through the center of the intermediate electrode, the center part of the intermediate electrode is designed with the high temperature material of tungsten and the suitable structure of the water cooling. The combinations of the hollow cathode and the intermediate electrode are practically useful for the ion plating plasma source.