Charge composition and ion energy in the plasma of a magnetically focused vacuum-arc source

The effect of magnetic fields on the plasma ion component in a vacuum arc source devised for coating deposition has been investigated. Mass spectrometry measurements were made to study the charge composition of a Ti-plasma ion flow versus the focusing magnetic field; the ion energy and the electron temperature were measured by probe methods. Interpretation of the relationships obtained is offered in terms of angular distributions of ion flows with different charge multiplicities, the ion energy as a function of the direction of ion motion and the magnetic field topography in the flow focusing region