Plasma source for auxiliary anode plasma generation in the electron source with grid plasma cathode

Abstract

This paper presents an auxiliary source of anode plasma developed for the electron source with a plasma cathode based on a low-pressure arc discharge. The plasma source consists of three cells: the main ion-plasma system with closed electron drift and two auxiliary ones. The latter include a hollow cathode and a reflective discharge cell. The construction allows to generate and transport a submillisecond low-energy beam up to 25 keV with a diameter of 40 mm in axial magnetic field up to 80 mT. In the main mode of the auxiliary discharge, the anode plasma is created at a current of up to 15 A and with discharge voltage about 300 V. Using the source of auxiliary anode plasma allows you to expand the range of operating pressures of the electron source down to 3.6?10-3 Pa of argon and get rid of high-frequency beam current oscillations when operating at low pressure (up to 1.2?10-2 Pa).