Rectilinear plasma filters and suppression of macroparticles emission in vacuum arcs; a review

Methods of cleaning of erosive plasma by means of simplest rectilinear magnetic filters, and also by ldquofilterlessrdquo methods of suppression of MPs are of significant practical interest. The review shows, that during the last two decades many things are achieved in understanding of mechanisms of suppression of the MPs emission. Taking into account the developed ideas about these mechanisms a number of sources of vacuum arc plasma with lowered content of MPs have been created. The authors note three most perspective groups of devices: (1) sources with magnetic focusing, (2) pulsed sources, (3) sources on the basis of non-conventional, drop free modes of a vacuum arc. A number of rectilinear sources of the filtered plasma are considered also.