Gas-discharge sources with charged-particle emission from the plasma of a hollow-cathode glow discharge

Abstract

The peculiarities of a magnetron discharge with a cold hollow cathode and an uncooled rod cathode are considered. It is shown that the thermionic emission of the rod cathode heated in the discharge makes a major contribution to the discharge characteristics and to the emissivity of the gas-discharge plasma and that a glow discharge can gradually change to the diffusion mode of operation of an arc discharge. Ion and electron sources with improved physical characteristics and general technical data are described. It has been demonstrated that the electrode structure of a hollow-cathode magnetron discharge holds promise not only as an emitting-plasma generator, but also as a source of atomic hydrogen and atomic flux of a consumable (sputtered and evaporated) rod cathode.