Pulsed processes in vacuum discharge cathode spot explosive electron emission cells

Abstract

Vacuum discharge means the generation of the plasma from the erosion of the electrode materials that being initiated at the cathode surface by pulses of the Explosive Electron Emission that has been experimentally discovered 50 year ago. Such a naturally non-stationary pulses that are responsible for the large current transfer through the system looks to be similar to the bubbles during the boiling. Both helps to emit from the surface a desirable value of matter in a form of portions. The portion of the dense explosive plasma formed within tens of ns within micron scale provides a portion of the current — the electron bunch — ecton. The ecton model explains main features of the vacuum discharge, such as emission of electrons and ions, formation of liquid metal jets and droplets, threshold current, lifetime, cyclic behavior of emission, cathode voltage drop, etc. However, for a detailed self-consistent quantitative description this model has to be improved. Self-consistency implies including plasma, emission, electromagnetic, and surface phenomena into consideration. The present work is intended to describe the recent ecton-theory results, its certain application to the experimental observations and outline of future developing.