Noise measurements of vacuum arc cathode spot lifetime

In a number of studies it has been shown that the gap voltage fluctuations are related to the cathode processes (birth and death of cathode spots). Therefore, it seemed purposeful to perform a frequency analysis of the discharge voltage aimed at the determination of the cathode spot lifetime. The experimental results obtained testify to the presence of repetitive fluctuations in the discharge voltage whose characteristic times are several tens of nanosecond and their repetition period decreases with increasing cathode temperature