Secondary-Electron-Emission Phase-Angle Distributions in High-Frequency Multipacting Discharges

Abstract

Numerical calculations of emission phase-angle distributions of electrons in a low-pressure, high-frequency (multipacting) electric discharge have been carried out on a Burroughs 220 digital computer. An integral equation for the phase-angle distribution is developed, and the numerical techniques used for its solution are outlined. The distribution of multipacting electrons with respect to the parameter v/v0, the ratio of impact velocity to emission velocity, has been calculated for several situations. These distributions show distinctive peaks which explain the success of the assumption v/v0=constant, used by previous workers, in predicting the breakdown region.