Abstract
The cathode spot formation within first 22 ns was investigated by laser absorption photography and ps-pulse interferometry. The discharge was initiated between W-, Ag-, AuNi-, Pd- electrodes with cathode-anode distance below 100 micrometers , the arc duration was some milliseconds and arc current 5 A. A ps-pulse holographic interferometer and momentary absorption photography enabled us to determinate spatial-temporal density distributions in the ignition phase of the cathode spot. An absolute electron density value of order of 3 - 10 26 m -3 has been determined indicating high conductivity values of the metal vapor plasma. Present measurements show that cathode spot plasma is essentially non- ideal and verify theoretical calculations resulting in an ionization potential decrease in dense cathode plasmas.
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