Mechanism of discharge with a hot hollow cathode. I

Optical and probe measurements of the hollow cathode plasma

“…The axial plasma distribution measured, corresponding to the probe floating potential in the active zone, is not considerable and is E Z ≈ 50-70 V m −1 . These data are in accord with the data in the transactions [3][4][5][6]14].…”

“…The analogous results are obtained in paper [3], in which it is shown that by selecting the discharge parameters, cathode material and sort of gas one can achieve sharper changes in the spectrum of the metal vapours due to the overcharge and Penning ionization. At the defined flow rates in the external column of the arc with the hollow cathode the equilibrium can occur between the direct and the inverse processes and first of all between the impacts of the I and II types.…”

“…Therefore, at the electron energy 30-40 eV the excitation of the atomic xenon with the electron impact is not optimal and considerably grows at the electron energy reduction. The excitation function of the ionized xenon line Xe II corresponding to the transition 6s 4 p-6p 4 D 0 reaches maximum at the electron energy ε ≈ 45 eV, and does not practically change at the energy increase [3,4]. Therefore at this energy, one can observe the zone of maximum of the excitation function.…”

“…Arc discharge with a hollow cathode is applied as the source of dense ionized plasma [1], a source of optical radiation [2][3][4][5][6] and argon-based lasers [3,4] and a source of charged particles [9][10][11] and neutralizers for plasma thrusters and engines [10][11][12], etc. The discharge with a hot hollow cathode is a convenient source to excite a spectrum of substance vapours [3,4] if it is introduced into the cathode cavity.…”

“…Arc discharge with a hollow cathode is applied as the source of dense ionized plasma [1], a source of optical radiation [2][3][4][5][6] and argon-based lasers [3,4] and a source of charged particles [9][10][11] and neutralizers for plasma thrusters and engines [10][11][12], etc. The discharge with a hot hollow cathode is a convenient source to excite a spectrum of substance vapours [3,4] if it is introduced into the cathode cavity. The study of the optical radiation of the arc external column at different discharge regimes and its dependence on internal cathode processes is therefore important and, for the majority of devices, should be included into the discharge operation in optimal conditions with minimum cathode destruction [20].…”