Experimental investigation of electron oscillation inside the filter of a vacuum arc plasma source

Abstract

We report here experimental evidence of electron oscillation within the toroidal-section magnetic duct of a filtered vacuum arc plasma source. Our results clearly demonstrate that electrons can oscillate inside the duct under the combined effects of the electric and magnetic fields. In another experiment, we observe that, under the influence of the electron motion, the trajectories of the plasma ions are more or less unchanged except in the intensity when the Bilek plate is biased. Finally, our time-of-flight experiments show that the effects due to collisional scattering between plasma ions and oscillating electrons are masked by those associated with the metal plasma flow through the duct, and collisional scattering does not give rise to an increase of the mean charge state of the plasma ions. We conclude that the application of a bias voltage to the duct not only perturbs the ions but also influences the plasma electrons. Our results demonstrate that electrons at the central axis are one of the major reasons leading to improved plasma transport through the duct.

Towards an electro-magnetic field separation of deposited material implemented in an ion beam sputter process

“…The electrical field of U Bias ¼ 80 V induced an additional increase to r max ¼ 0.053 nm/s for Titania. Such an increase in the deposition rate is in accordance to a previous study of Kwok et al 6 In the experiments presented here, the relative patterns of coating material do not differ from those with an induced electric field; only the efficiency of the process increases. This fact can also be observed in the photocopies of the coatings, which are attached to the corresponding diagrams.…”

“…In order to improve the efficiency of the guidance, i.e., to enhance the deposition rate, a bias plate is mounted. 6 The bias plate is formed as a curved strip, which covers a quarter of the solenoid's interior at the top. It is electrically insulated from the solenoid and kept at a DC bias voltage of approximately 80 V during the measurements.…”

Mo-containing diamond-like carbon films with blue emission

“…The plasma was guided and transported through a curved duct into the processing chamber to conduct the deposition [12,13]. In our previous paper [8], we have reported the deposition and characterization of the Mo-DLC thin films.…”

Plasma transport in magnetic duct filter

“…duct bias indirectly. The plasma density distribution in the duct strongly depends on the magnetic field [14][15][16]. The magnetic field has a great influence on the plasma density near the duct wall so as to influence the optimal bias.…”

“…The magnetic field has a great influence on the plasma density near the duct wall so as to influence the optimal bias. When the magnetic field increases from 0 to 300 G, the plasma flux has a strong tendency to focus in the axis of the duct, and the plasma density near the duct wall decreases evidently [15,16]. Thus, the optimal bias decreases too.…”