Ion angular distribution in plasma of vacuum arc ion source with composite cathode and elevated gas pressure

Abstract

The Metal Vapor Vacuum Arc (MEVVA) ion sources are capable of generating ion beams of almost all metals of the periodic table. For this kind of ion source, a combination of gas feeding with magnetic field allows the simultaneous generation of both metal and gaseous ions. That makes the MEVVA ion source an excellent instrument for science and application. This work presents results of investigation for ion angular distributions in vacuum arc plasma of Mevva-V.Ru ion source for composite cathodes and for elevated gas pressure. It was shown that for all the cathode materials, singly charged ions have wider angular distribution than multiply charged ions. Increasing the working gas pressure leads to a significant change in the angular distribution of gaseous ions, while with the distribution of metal ions gas remains practically unchanged. The reasons for such different influences are discussed.