Abstract
We present results of theoretical and experimental study of collisional relaxation of fast electrons energy in gas. The dependence on the gas pressurepand electron energy ε of the mean pass Λ of fast electrons injected into a gas being sufficient to spend on ionization all their initial energy ε has been calculated. It was found that Λ is directly proportional to ε2and inversely proportional to the gas pressure. To sustain glow discharge with electrostatic confinement of fast electrons, Λ should be less than the mean way to the anode of emitted by the cathode electrons.
Highlights
To transport accelerated particles and atoms of deposited materials from the particles sources to the surface of the workpiece in the working vacuum chamber, the length of their free path must exceed the size of the workpiece ~ 10 cm, and these particles are obtained using a high-frequency [1], vacuum arc [2] and magnetron [3] discharges at a gas pressure below ~ 0.1 Pa
A cylindrical hollow cathode with an inner diameter of several millimeters made of a refractory metal is often used as a thermionic cathode [5]
There were no data in the literature on a cold cathode glow discharge at a gas pressure below 1 Pa [714]
Summary
To transport accelerated particles and atoms of deposited materials from the particles sources to the surface of the workpiece in the working vacuum chamber, the length of their free path must exceed the size of the workpiece ~ 10 cm, and these particles are obtained using a high-frequency [1], vacuum arc [2] and magnetron [3] discharges at a gas pressure below ~ 0.1 Pa. To fill a large working volume with a homogeneous plasma, a discharge with thermionic cathodes and a peripheral magnetic field on the surface of the chamber, is used [4] In this case, a cylindrical hollow cathode with an inner diameter of several millimeters made of a refractory metal is often used as a thermionic cathode [5]. Most researchers explained that the extinction of the hollow cathode glow discharge is caused by the loss of electrons emitted by the cathode with a decrease in the gas pressure. The lower pressure limit of the discharge should depend on the ratio between the average path length L of electrons inside the cathode before escaping from the cathode and the energy relaxation length Λ hereinafter referred to as the average path length of a fast electron, which it has to pass in order to spend all its energy on the gas ionization. With increasing Λ, the ionization intensity in the cathode decreases and the discharge extinguishes
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