The influence of magnetic field on electron beam generated plasmas

Abstract

Magnetically confined argon plasma in a long cylindrical tube driven by an electron beam is studied experimentally and theoretically. Langmuir probes are used to measure the electron energy distribution function, electron density and temperature in plasmas generated by 2 keV, 10 mA electron beams in a 25 mTorr argon background for magnetic field strengths of up to 200 Gauss. The experimental results agree with simulations done using a spatially averaged Boltzmann model adapted to treat an electron beam generated plasma immersed in a constant magnetic field. The confining effect of the magnetic field is studied theoretically using fluid and kinetic approaches. The fluid approach leads to two regimes of operation: weakly and strongly magnetized. The former is similar to the magnetic field-free case, while in the latter the ambipolar diffusion coefficient and electron density depend quadratically on the magnetic field strength. Finally, a more rigorous kinetic treatment, which accounts for the impact of the magnetic field over the whole distribution of electrons, is used for accurate description of the plasma.