An analysis of the instability phenomena of a low current vacuum arc for copper cathode

Author

Mungkung, Narong ; Morimiya, Osami ; Kamikawaji, Toru

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Electron. Eng., Nippon Inst. of Technol., Saitama, Japan

fYear

2002

fDate

2002

Firstpage

223

Lastpage

226

Abstract

A cathode spot model is used to analyze the instability phenomena of vacuum arc. The current below which no real solution exists is believed to be an unstable region. When the current decreases below 12 A, the electrons returning to the sheath region from the plasma region were found to dominate over positive ions, and thus the cathode electric field has an imaginary solution. An electrostatic probe was used to confirm these findings, and the analytical results were found to be similar to the measurement results. The present cathode spot model may be valid for volatile materials.

Keywords

cathodes; copper; electrostatic devices; plasma instability; plasma probes; plasma sheaths; positive ions; vacuum arcs; Cu; cathode electric field; cathode spot model; electrostatic probe; instability phenomena; plasma region; positive ions; sheath region; vacuum arc; volatile materials; Anodes; Atomic measurements; Cathodes; Copper; Current density; Electrons; Equations; Plasma sheaths; Vacuum arcs; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Discharges and Electrical Insulation in Vacuum, 2002. 20th International Symposium on

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7394-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ISDEIV.2002.1027347

Filename

1027347