Plasma characteristics in the discharge region of a 20A emission current hollow cathode

Numerical calculation and fluid simulation methods were used to obtain the plasma characteristics in the discharge region of the LIPS-300 ion thruster’s 20 A emission current hollow cathode and to verify the structural design of the emitter.The results of the two methods indicated that the highest plasma density and electron temperature,which improved significantly in the orifice region,were located in the discharge region of the hollow cathode.The magnitude of plasma density was about 10~(21)m~(-3)in the emitter and orifice regions,as obtained by numerical calculations,but decreased exponentially in the plume region with the distance from the orifice exit.Meanwhile,compared to the emitter region,the electron temperature and current improved by about 36%in the orifice region.The hollow cathode performance test results were in good agreement with the numerical calculation results,which proved that that the structural design of the emitter and the orifice met the requirements of a 20 A emission current.The numerical calculation method can be used to estimate plasma characteristics in the preliminary design stage of hollow cathodes.     

Effect of vacuum backpressure on discharge characteristics of hollow cathode

A hollow cathode is the electronic source and neutralizer of the Hall thruster and an ion thruster.When the orbit of an all-electric propulsion satellite changes from 100 km to 36 000 km, the backpressure changes by two to three orders of magnitude. In this paper, the influence of the backpressure on the discharge characteristics of the hollow cathode has been studied experimentally in the so-called diode configuration. With the increase in the backpressure, the anode voltage decreases gradually, and the amplitude of the current oscillation decreases significantly. Additionally, the plasma is relatively stable, the most probable ion energy and the width of the ion energy distribution reduces, and the electron distribution function inclines toward the Maxwell distribution under high backpressure. The analysis results show that the backpressure affects the gas ionization and the ionic acoustic turbulence, which also affects the discharge characteristics of the hollow cathode.     

Steady and oscillatory plasma properties in the near-field plume of a hollow cathode

Hollow cathodes serve as electron sources in Hall thrusters,ion thrusters and other electric propulsion systems.One of the vital problems in their application is the cathode erosion.However,the basic erosion mechanism and the source of high-energy ions cause of erosion are not fully understood.In this paper,both potential measurements and simulation analyses were performed to explain the formation of high-energy ions.A high-speed camera,a single Langmuir probe and a floating emissive probe were used to determine the steady and oscillatory plasma properties in the near-field plume of a hollow cathode.The temporal structure,electron temperature,electron density,and both static and oscillation of plasma potentials of the plume have been obtained by the diagnostics mentioned above.The experimental results show that there exists a potential hill (about 30 V) and also severe potential oscillations in the near-plume region.Moreover,a simple 2D particle-in-cell model was used to analyze the energy transition between the potential hill and/or its oscillations and the ions.The simulation results show that the energy of ions gained from the static potential background is about 20 eV,but it could reach to 60 eV when the plasma oscillates.     

An experimental study on the degradation of the C12A7 hollow cathode

Emitter overheating is by far the greatest problem limiting the performance of novel C12A7 hollow cathodes. To explore the failure operating point and degradation mechanism of the C12A7 hollow cathode, microscopic analyses of a degraded electride emitter after 10 h of thermal electron emission are presented in this paper. The morphology and composition variation of overheated electride emitters by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction indicate the melting and decomposition of electride of the surface layer. The monitored temperature of the electride emitter during the C12A7 hollow cathode operation shows that to avoid overheating the electride emitter, the average current density allowed should be about 64 mA mm−2 for the C12A7 hollow cathode in its current configuration. Experimental results of the heaterless C12A7 hollow cathode demonstrate that xenon (Xe) ion bombardment can remove the insulating layer and restore the thermionic emission capability for less degraded emitters. Based on experimental results and microscopic characterization, the depletion and degradation mechanisms of electride emitters during the hollow cathode operation are discussed.     

Impact of exterior electron emission on the self-sustaining margin of hollow cathode discharge

Hollow cathode researches used to focus on the inner cavity or downstream plume, however,rarely on the gap between the throttling orifice plate and the keeper plate(T-K gap), which was found to impact the self-sustaining margin of hollow cathode discharge in this paper. Near the lower margin, the main power deposition and electron emission and ionization regions would migrate from inner cavity and downstream plume to the T-K gap, in which case, the source and destination of each m A current therein matter for the self-sustaining capability. Changing the metal surfaces in the T-K gap with emissive materials proved effective in lowering the lower margin by supplementing auxiliary thermionic emission, compensating electron loss on cold absorbing walls and suppressing discharge oscillations. By doing so, the lower margin of a 4 A hollow cathode was lowered from 1 to 0.1-0.2 A, enabling it to couple with low power Hall thruster without extra keeper current.     

碳团簇及C60负离子的产生

利有铯负离子溅射源和石墨阴极产生并引出了碳团簇负离子流，观察到了一些电子亲和势很小的团簇，用Ｃ６０／Ｃ７０混合物做阴极，也引出了Ｃ６０及其碎片的负离子束，分析了碳团簇负离子束流的质谱组成特点和束流变化的一些规律。     

间热式大面积六硼化镧中空阴极

介绍了适用于强流离子源的间热式大面积六硼化镧中空阴极。在１５ｃｍ双潘宁离子湖泊 上放电特性研究表明，该阴极性能良好，能可靠工作，使用过程中多次暴露于大气中，发射性能并未变坏，加热功率为１．４５ｋＷ，ＬａＢ６发射电流密度为２０Ａ／ｃｍ＾２，放电电流４００Ａ，脉冲宽度３０ｍｓ，放电波形重复性很好。使用１００ｈ后，发射体尺寸无明显变化。     

低能高束流氩离子源的结构及性能

离子源技术是等离子体研究中的一项重要内容,而低能大束流源则是离子源技术研究中的一个重要方向,因为这样的源在离子束刻蚀、离子束溅射镀膜以及荷能粒子与物质相互作用方面都有广泛的应用;本文采用空心阴极空心阳极结构,用热阴极电子发射弧放电驱动并用磁场约束产生等离子体,用曲面发射引出离子束,研制成了氩气放电溅射离子源;研究了灯丝加热电流、弧压对弧流的影响和弧流与工作气体压力对离子束引出的影响规律.离子源的引出电压在0-4.0 kV之间连续可调,最大引出束流为100 mA,束斑面积为φ6.0 cm,以Ti为溅射靶时的最大溅射沉积率为0.45 nm/s,离子源可连续工作160 h.     

Characteristics of a Normal Glow Discharge Excited by DC Voltage in Atmospheric Pressure Air

Atmospheric pressure glow discharges were generated in an air gap between a needle cathode and a water anode. Through changing the ballast resistor and gas gap width between the electrodes, it has been found that the discharges are in normal glow regime judged from the currentvoltage characteristics and visualization of the discharges. Results indicate that the diameter of the positive column increases with increasing discharge current or increasing gap width. Optical emission spectroscopy is used to calculate the electron temperature and vibrational temperature. Both the electron temperature and the vibrational temperature increases with increasing discharge current or increasing gap width. Spatially resolved measurements show that the maxima of electron temperature and vibrational temperature appeared in the vicinity of the needle cathode.     

Analysis of Effects of the Arc Voltage on Arc Discharges in a Cathode Ion Source of Neutral Beam Injector

A hot cathode bucket ion source is used for the EAST(experimental advanced superconducting tokamak)neutral beam injector.The thermal electrons emitted from the surface of the cathode are extracted and accelerated by the electric field formed by the arc voltage,which is applied between the arc chamber of the ion source and the cathode.This paper analyzes the effects of arc voltage on the arc discharge in a hot cathode high current ion source.     

Numerical simulation and performance analysis of the radiofrequency inductive cathode

The radiofrequency(RF) inductive cathode has great prospects in space missions with long mission cycles, large speed increments, and rapid response requirements as the main electron source and neutralizer in Hall thrusters and ion thrusters. This paper proposes a comprehensive multi-physics RF inductive cathode model in which the RF electromagnetic field, electrostatic field for extracting electrons, flow field, plasma transport and electrochemical reaction process are all accounted for. Each ph...     

Three-dimensional non-equilibrium modeling of a DC multi-cathode arc plasma torch

In this paper, a three-dimensional non-equilibrium steady arc model is used to investigate the temperature, velocity and electromagnetic field in multi-cathode arc torch, and the formation mechanism of a large-area, uniform and diffused arc plasma is analyzed. The numerical simulation results show that a large volume plasma region can be formed in the central region of the generator during discharge. During this process, the maximum electron temperature appears near the cathode and in the central convergence region, while the maximum heavy particle temperature only appears in the central convergence region. This phenomenon is consistent with the experimental arc images. Near the cathode tip, the arc column is in a contraction state. In the area slightly away from the cathode, the six arc columns begin to join together. In the plasma generator, there is a large-scale current distribution in all directions of X, Y and Z, forming a stable arc plasma with a wide range of diffusion. The calculated electron temperature distribution is in good agreement with the measured electron temperature. The results suggest that the largearea diffused arc plasma in the multi-cathode arc torch is the combined effect of current distribution, convection heat transfer and heat conduction.     

Current self-limitation in a transverse nanosecond discharge with a slotted cathode

A high-voltage transverse pulsed nanosecond discharge with a slotted hollow cathode was found to be a source of high-energy (few kV) ribbon electron beams.Conditions for the formation and extinction of electron beams were experimentally studied in discharges in helium at pressures of 1-100 Torr.It was found that interaction of fast electrons with a non-uniform electric field near the slotted cathode led to limitation of the magnitude of the discharge current.A physical model was developed to describe the discharge current self-limitation that was in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results.Some technical solutions that are expected to increase the upper current limits in transverse nanosecond discharge are discussed.     

The dynamics of a nanosecond gas discharge development with an extended slot cathode in argon

The article presents the results of an experimental study and numerical modelling for the formation and development dynamics of a high-voltage transverse nanosecond discharge generated by a slot cathode in an argon medium at a pressure range of 1–10 Torr. Numerical modelling was carried out under similar experimental conditions for the processes of formation and propagation of ionisation waves, electron density distribution, excited atom and average electron energy in the discharge gap, including the cavity inside the cathode. At a pressure of p = 1 Torr, a classical version of a high-voltage discharge is demonstrated to take place with no penetration of the plasma into the cathode cavity and no observed hollow cathode effect. An increase in gas pressure to 5 Torr leads to a penetration of plasma into the cathode cavity with the formation of a cathodic potential drop (CPD) region. Electrons emitted from the side surfaces of the cavity pass through the CPD region without collisions, oscillate inside the cathode cavity; the hollow cathode effect is fully manifested. At р = 10 Torr, the modelling results qualitatively coincide with the results at р = 5 Torr; in this case, however, hardly any accelerated electrons are observed in the gap between the electrodes, due to their energetic relaxation both inside the cathode cavity and when exiting from it. In both cases, the plasma structure formed at the exit of the cathode cavity involves a concentration of charged particles an order of magnitude higher than that in the rest of the gap, leading to a self-limiting discharge current effect. The results of the numerical modelling are in good agreement with experimental data.     

High efficiency metal ion source

A double hollow cathode ion source can produce a high amount and high current density of metal ions (Mo) by using a new sputtering discharge mode of hollow cathode discharge. It is evident that the new sputtering discharge mode occurs under suitable conditions of the diameter of the second hollow cathode and the magnetic field. At a sputter voltage of 600 V and magnetic field of 1.0 kG, the metal ion beam ratio of reaches 50%.     

A Source for Multiply-Charged Ions and Acceleration of C, N and O Ions by IPCR Cyclotron

The design and performance of the ion source which is now used in the IPCR variable energy cyclotron are described. The source is of the electron-bombarded hot cathode type having two cylindrical cathodes of tungsten and a water-cooled copper anode containing a replaceable molybdenum slit plate. The arc discharge is established continuously but not pulsed. The source is usually operated very stably under an arc power of 1.5 to 3kW with a gas flow rate of 1 to 2 cc/min. The lifetime of the source is mainly limited by the erosion of the upper tungsten cathode at about 24 hours. At present, C4+, N4+, O4+, N5+ and O5+ ions are accelerated up to 48~100, 56~1100, 70~95, 56~125 and 70~125 MeV respectively, and a few micro-amperes of these ions are extracted from the cyclotron. The vacuum obtainable in the accelerating chamber is usually 2 ~ 4 × 10-6 mHg, and the loss of ion beam by the charge exchange effect is comparatively small. Extracted ion beams are used in several experiments for about 1900 hours in a year.     

Numerical research of a 2D axial symmetry hybrid model for the radio-frequency ion thruster

Since the high efficiency discharge is critical to the radio-frequency ion thruster (RIT),a 2D axial symmetry hybrid model has been developed to study the plasma evolution of RIT.The fluid method and the drift energy correction of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) are applied to the analysis of the RIT discharge.In the meantime,the PIC-MCC method is used to investigate the ion beam current extraction character for the plasma plume region.The beam current simulation results,with the hybrid model,agree well with the experimental results,and the error is lower than 11％,which shows the validity of the model.The further study shows there is an optimal ratio for the radio-frequency (RF) power and the beam current extraction power under the fixed RIT configuration.And the beam extraction efficiency will decrease when the discharge efficiency beyond a certain threshold (about 87 W).As the input parameters of the hybrid model are all the design values,it can be directly used to the optimum design for other kinds of RITs and radio-frequency ion sources.     

Effect of the Discharge Voltage on the Performance of the Hall Thruster

In this paper,a two-dimensional physical model is established according to the discharging process in the Hall thruster discharge channel using the particle-in-cell method.The influences of discharge voltage on the distributions of potential,ion radial flow,and discharge current are investigated in a fixed magnetic field configuration.It is found that,with the increase of discharge voltage,especially during 250-650 V,the ion radial flow and the collision frequency between ions and the wall are decreased,but the discharge current is increased.The electron temperature saturation is observed between 400-450 V and the maximal value decreases during this region.When the discharge voltage reaches 700 V,the potential distribution in the axis direction expands to the anode significantly,the ionization region becomes close to the anode,and the acceleration region grows longer.Besides,ion radial flow and the collision frequency between ions and the wall are also increased when the discharge voltage exceeds 650 V.     

Laser-driven pulsed emission and plasma formation of Cs3Sb photocathodes

The experimental progress of laser-driven Cs₃Sb photocathodes is reported. The cathodes prepared in an UHV system can be used to generate short-pulsed, high-brightness electron beams. Emission properties are tested under a 50–200 ns pulsed Xe⁺ laser illumination. The quantum efficiency in the range of 2–5.6% and current density of 108 A/cm² are obtained. A brightness of 1.85 × 10⁹ A/m² rad² is also measured. Mass analysis and other methods have been used for investigating the plasma formation when laser intensity rises above the “break-down” threshold. The current density increases rapidly during the plasma electron emission, but the pulse width of the emission is enlarged, and the brightness is limited. It is observed that the plasma is just composed of cesium and antimony atoms from the cathode rather than adsorbed residual gases.     

Diagnostics of a microhollow cathode discharge at atmospheric pressure

Based on a sandwich-like structure, a microhollow cathode discharge device is designed, and a stable discharge is realized by injecting helium into the discharge region of the device at atmospheric pressure. A wall probe is used to determine the relevant parameters of the plasma generated by the device, such as particle density, electron temperature, and the electron distribution function. At the same time, a sink parameter is used to correct the electron distribution function of the wall-probe diagnostics, and to further study the relationship between electron density and the electron temperature of the corrected electron distribution function.