Abstract
We show that vacuum arc plasma discharges with a current of several kiloamperes and duration of a few microseconds can generate multiply charged metal ions with charge states greater than 10+. The physical mechanism behind this is discussed, suggesting an optimum arc current for higher charge states depending on the pulse duration and cathode material. Measurements of ion mass-to-charge ratio and images taken with nanosecond resolution suggest that, higher charge state ions are produced at characteristic distances of ∼10 mm from the cathode as the arc current peaks, and the process responsible for their generation is additional ionization as the discharge is pinched by its self-magnetic field. The maximum and mean ion charge states reveal a considerable increase for the all cathode materials studied: magnesium, aluminum, zirconium, tin, tantalum, gold, lead, and bismuth. For bismuth ions, the maximum charge state reaches a record-breaking value of 17+ and the mean of the charge state distribution is 12.6+. The results obtained are of interest for vacuum arc discharge physics and for ion beam technologies.
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