The Effect of Gas on the Development of a Vaccum Arc with a Hollow Anode

The paper describes the results of a study of the formation of a low-pressure space arc with an igniting device and a large-size hollow anode. It is shown that the time of arc formation tf is determined by the dimensions of the hollow anode, the type of gas, and the gas pressure. As the pressure is increased from 4x10-3 to 4x10-2 Pa, tf decreases considerably and the effect of the gas type (air, Ar, Kr, Xe) on tf strengthens; lower tf values corresponding to greater gas atomic masses. On using a 1.5 kA arc in a mesh plasma emitter, 1 kA, (0.6x0.15) m2, electron beams are obtained at 200 kV accelerating voltage and 5xl0-6 s pulse duration.