Dependence of the peak current on the hollow cathode dimensions and secondary electron production in a pseudospark discharge

Author

Cetiner, Selma ; Stoltz, Peter ; Messmer, Peter ; Schoessow, Paul

Author_Institution

Tech-X Corp., Boulder, CO

fYear

2006

fDate

4-8 June 2006

Firstpage

317

Lastpage

317

Abstract

Summary form only given. The pseudospark, a gas discharge operating on the left branch of the Paschen breakdown curve is characterized by a very rapid breakdown phase during which a rapid increase in the current can be achieved. Typical experimental setups operate at pressures of 10 to 100 Pa and voltages ranging between 0.1 and 100 kV. The dependence of the magnitude of the peak current on the hollow cathode dimensions is investigated using the two-dimensional kinetic plasma simulation code OOPIC Pro and the two and three-dimensional code VORPAL. The relative importance of secondary electrons due to both ion and electron impact is also studied. A detailed comparison of the results generated by the two codes is presented

Keywords

plasma collision processes; plasma kinetic theory; plasma simulation; secondary electron emission; sparks; 0.1 to 100 kV; 10 to 100 Pa; OOPIC Pro; Paschen breakdown curve; VORPAL code; electron impact; gas discharge; hollow cathode; ion impact; kinetic plasma simulation code; pseudospark discharge; secondary electron production; Cathodes; Collaborative work; Discharges; Electric breakdown; Electrons; Kinetic theory; Plasma simulation; Production; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Plasma Science, 2006. ICOPS 2006. IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts. The 33rd IEEE International Conference on

Conference_Location

Traverse City, MI

Print_ISBN

1-4244-0125-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PLASMA.2006.1707190

Filename

1707190