PIC Simulation to Analyze Peak Electron Current Generation in a Triggered Pseudospark Discharge-Based Plasma Cathode Electron Source

Abstract

In this paper, an investigation has been carried out for the analysis of peak electron current at the anode surface in pseudospark discharge-based plasma cathode electron (PCE) source using 2-D kinetic plasma simulation code OOPIC-PRO. It has been observed that peak electron current is a function of hollow cathode (HC) dimension, gas pressure, and seed electron energy. The investigation has also been carried out for temporal evolution of the plasma formation inside the HC and electron-beam generation processes. Trends in size of the generated electron beams have been presented as a function of the potential distribution at the cathode aperture and applied gas pressure. As a result, on increasing gas pressure for the constant aperture size of HC, electron beam of higher current is generated while on other hand, by increasing cathode aperture for constant gas pressure, electron beam of lower current is achieved. The spatial characteristics of cathode fall region have also been presented for the different gas pressures and cathode aperture sizes. The simulation has been carried out for the variation of cathode apertures 1–10 mm as well as argon gas pressures 1–80 Pa. The gas pressure, cathode aperture and seed electron energy strongly influence the potential distribution in PCE source, and therefore, the peak electron currents as well as electron beams of different amplitudes and sizes can be realized.