Descripción: A stationary, one-dimensional fluid model is presented to describe the interelectrode region of a nonfiltered vacuum arc operated with a background gas. The model includes the electron energy equation and the main elastic and inelastic atomic processes among metallic ions, electrons, and gas particles. To validate the model predictions an experimental study of the plasma-neutral gas structure, using a titanium (Ti) cathode and argon (Ar) as the background gas, is presented. The measured electron temperature and the experimental dependence on the pressure of neutral Ti and Ar spectroscopic emission lines are well reproduced, using a simple atomic model to interpret the plasma radiation emission. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Descripción: An experimental study of the metallic ion flux in a pulsed copper vacuum arc with an annular anode and operated with an axial magnetic field is presented. It is employed an insulating drift duct surrounded by an external coil which generates an axial magnetic field. Operating the arc under vacuum condition, measurements of the ion flux and the plasma potential at different axial positions along the duct and different magnetic field values are presented. The arc voltage and the total discharge current as functions of the magnetic field intensity are also reported. We find that the decay of the ion flux through the duct walls is not exponential. A simplified model for the ion emission is used in order to obtain an interpretation of the measured ion current for different axial positions and magnetic field strength, and a good agreement with the experimental points is found.

Descripción: An experimental study of the plasma jet generated in a pulsed copper vacuum arc with an annular anode and operated with a linear magnetic filter is presented. Two types of filters were employed, one consisting of an insulating duct and the other of a conducting duct, both of them surrounded by an external coil, which generates the axial magnetic field. To improve the ion flux at the filter entrance another auxiliary magnetic field in the cathode region was applied (focusing field). Also, the cathode shape was modified to confine the cathode spot onto the front cathode surface. Operating the arc under vacuum conditions, probe measurements of the ion saturation current and the plasma potential at different axial positions along the ducts and for different filtering magnetic field values are reported. A comparison between both kinds of filters is also presented. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Descripción: Measurements on the ion flux transmission in a magnetically filtered d-c vacuum arc are presented. The device includes a metallic plasma-generating chamber with water-cooled electrodes coupled to a substrate chamber through a quarter-torus magnetic filter. It is employed a Copper cathode (6 cm in diameter) with a Copper annular anode. The filter consists in a steel cylinder 500 mm length and 100 mm inner diameter with 90° of bending angle and corrugated lateral walls, surrounded by a magnetic field generating coil. The arc is operated at a current level of 100 A, and the intensity of the filtering magnetic field was in the range 0-200 G (measured at the knee of the filter). This magnetic field is enough high so as to magnetize the electrons but not the ions. The discharge is ignited by bringing (and later removing) a tungsten striker into contact with the cathode. The arc voltage drop, the floating potentials of the filter and the plasma, and the ion current collected by probes located at different positions as functions of the magnetic field intensity are reported and compared with measurements presented in the literature with other similar devices.

Descripción: In the present work, we studied the efficiency of a magnetic island filter for two vacuum arc designs, pulsed and continuous. The magnetic island filter consisted in a straight duct with an external solenoid and a magnet enclosed in a housing (magnetic island) located inside the duct on its axis, and both magnetic fields are in opposite direction. The housing of the magnetic island obstructs the line of sight between the cathode and the substrate. In this arrangement, the charged plasma components move along the curved magnetic field lines, around the magnetic island, but the macroparticles move in straight paths and deposit on the wall of the magnetic island housing. The performance of the filter was characterized for different external and internal field strengths. The plasma transport efficiency was analyzed by measuring the ion saturation current with Langmuir probes and the deposited mass rate. The ion transmission efficiency around the system axis achieved values around 25%. Observation of the coating surface morphology with optical microscopy determined that the macroparticles were effectively removed.

Descripción: Three-dimensional measurements of the ion flux along the filter of a magnetically filtered d-c vacuum arc are presented. The device includes a metallic plasma-generating chamber with cooper electrodes coupled to a substrate chamber through a quarter-torus magnetic filter. The filtering magnetic field was high enough to magnetize the electrons but not the ions. The ion current distribution was studied using a multi-element Cu probes, placed at three different positions along the filter. The ion saturation current of each probe was measured by biasing the probe at -70V with respect the grounded anode. Preliminary results of the three dimensional ion flux distribution and the floating potential of the plasma as functions of the bias filter voltage and magnetic field intensity are reported. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.