Studies of squirrel cage type coaxial accelerator for IPD process

The paper presents recent studies of a current sheet structure, as well as its dynamics, in a plasma accelerator used in the surface engineering for impulse plasma deposition (IPD). During the IPD process plasma is generated in the working gas due to a high-voltage high-current pulse discharge, ignited within an interelectrode region. Usually an internal rod and external tube, which are insulated from one another by a ceramic insulator, constitute the electrode system. In the present work the outer electrode has had the form of a squirrel cage composed of stainless steel rods, fixed symmetrically around the inner electrode. It has been found that described modifications introduce significant change in plasma dynamics and in a phase composition of the coatings. Analysis of the obtained results indicates the direction of IPD accelerator design changes.