Time-of-flight analysis of a plasma jet from a spark plug in vacuum

Abstract

Pseudorandom timeofflight analysis with a timeofflight mass spectrometer Rev.The composition of a plasma jet and the velocity distribution of the different ions from an arc plasma source are investigated by a double time-of-flight method. The plasma source consists of a marine spark plug in coaxial configuration driven from a capacitor bank. The analysis of the plasma jet is performed by pulsed acceleration of plasma ions and measurement of their time of flight to a distant electron multiplier tube. Mainly oxygen and aluminum ions from the insulator are detected. The velocity of the highly ionized ions extends to 14 cm/ps. The lower ionized particles have lower initial velocities. The hydrogen ion content increases with increased time between shots. 3169