Ion kinetic energy distribution in a pulsed vacuum arc with a straight magnetic filter

L. GIULIANI; D. GRONDONA; H. KELLY; F. MINOTTI

Venezuela

Congreso; XII Latinamerican Workshop on Plasma Physics; 2007

Latinamerican Workshop on Plasma Physics

In vacuum arcs of interest for film deposition the ion kinetic energy is of importance because it influences the coating properties. In this kind of discharge, the ions come out from the cathode spots with a high kinetic energy (20 ÷ 150 eV). In the present work we present measurements of vacuum arc ion energy distributions in a pulsed vacuum arc with a straight magnetic filter. A retarding field analyser was used to perform the measurements that were carried out with a variable magnetic field strength (of the order of 10 mT). Since the interpretation of the results obtained from the retarding field analyser lies on the knowledge of the plasma and floating potential values, we have employed also Langmuir probes for determining those quantities. The obtained results for the ion kinetic energy are similar to those reported by other authors, but also they were found independent of the magnetic field strength. The electron temperature was also found to be independent on the magnetic field strength and on the axial position along the filter indicating the absence of collisions.