Highly Ionized Hollow Cathode Discharge

Abstract

A hollow cathode discharge (HCD) is described that produces a highly ionized steady-state plasma (ne≈1013−1014/cm3) at a temperature 1–10 eV, in a volume as large as 104 cm3, with background neutral gas density ≈1013/cm3. The HCD is generated by the prescription: gas flow (H2, He, A, or N2) 0.05–2 cc STP/sec through a refractory metal hollow cathode tube into a vacuum; any anode; 20–200 V dc applied. An axial induction 100–1000 G is used to collimate the discharge and to aid in starting by rf excitation. The HCD runs from the cathode interior, deep enough that p0d≈1 cm×mm Hg. Current range is 2.0–300 A. Various electrode configurations and a wide range of operating parameters have been studied. The external plasma density and temperature were measured by Langmuir probes. A discussion is given of the confinement mechanism and of the energy balance, both in the external plasma and in the region of the cathode itself.