Observation of enhanced prebreakdown electron beams in a vacuum spark with a hollow-cathode configuration

Author

Wong, C.S. ; Ong, C.X. ; Lee, S. ; Choi, P.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., Malaya Univ., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Volume

20

Issue

4

fYear

1992

fDate

8/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

405

Lastpage

409

Abstract

The generation of prebreakdown electron beams in a low-energy vacuum spark with a hollow-cathode configuration is observed under a range of experimental conditions. The vacuum spark studied is powered by either a 25-kV, 3.3-nF single capacitor discharge or a two-stage, 50-kV, 1.65-nF Marx. The electron beams are detected by observing the X-ray emission from the anode tip produced by electron impact. Results show that an electron beam is formed well before the onset of the electrical breakdown. This prebreakdown electron beam has an initial slow buildup phase followed by an exponential rise, leading to the breakdown of the discharge. This behavior of the electron beam evolution is in good qualitative agreement with the model simulation of the pseudospark phenomenon obtained for a transient hollow-cathode discharge

Keywords

electric breakdown of gases; electron beams; glow discharges; plasma diagnostics; plasma production; sparks; 1.65 nF; 25 kV; 3.3 nF; 50 kV; X-ray emission; anode tip; breakdown; buildup phase; capacitor discharge; diagnostics; electrical breakdown; electron impact; enhanced prebreakdown electron beams; hollow-cathode configuration; low-energy discharge; plasma production; pseudospark phenomenon; transient hollow-cathode discharge; vacuum spark; Anodes; Cathodes; Electric breakdown; Electron beams; Laboratories; Plasma density; Plasma materials processing; Plasma measurements; Plasma x-ray sources; Sparks;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/27.256767

Filename

256767