Isak I. Beilis

Plasma flow and plasma–wall transition in Hall thruster channel

In this paper a model of the quasineutral plasma and the transition between the plasma and the dielectric wall in a Hall thruster channel is developed. The plasma is considered using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic approximation while the sheath in front of the dielectric surface is considered to be one dimensional and collisionless. The dielectric wall effect is taken into account by introducing an effective coefficient of the secondary electron emission (SEE), s. In order to develop a self-consistent model, the boundary parameters at the sheath edge (ion velocity and electric field) are obtained from the two-dimensional plasma bulk model. In the considered condition, i.e., ion temperature much smaller than that of electrons and significant ion acceleration in the axial direction, the presheath scale length becomes comparable to the channel width so that the plasma channel becomes an effective presheath. It is found that the radial ion velocity component at the plasma–sheath interface varies along the thr...

State of the theory of vacuum arcs

A review of vacuum arc phenomena including the cathode and anode processes with cold and hot electrodes as well as the processes in the interelectrode plasma is presented. In the case of cold electrodes, the current continuity mechanism, the nature of mass loss, spot motion, plasma jet generation in the spots, and the cathode potential drop are reviewed. The explosive and gas-dynamical models of cathode spot operation are described. In the case of hot electrodes, the diffuse current continuity mechanism is analyzed and a model for electron-current fraction calculation in discharge with cathode-anomalous electron emission is proposed. The present state of electrical and plasma characteristics of high-current arcs in magnetic fields are discussed.

Recent progress in filtered vacuum arc deposition

Abstract During this decade significant advances have been made both in the understanding and implementation of filtered vacuum are deposition. Rigid rotor models have been analyzed statistically, and new models which treat the mutual influence of the electrons and ions on each other self-consistently, take into account the centrifugal force on the ions, and take into consideration collisions, have been formulated. It was shown that the plasma transport efficiency is limited by drifts caused by the centrifugal force and by the electric field generated by charge separation in the plasma. For a range of magnetic fields strengths for which the ions are not magnetized, i.e., confined to a Larmor radius less than the duct radius, the transport efficiency for Cu plasma is about 10%, and depends only weakly on the magnetic field strength. Increased transmission is found when the ions are magnetized, reaching about 50% for a 36–60 mT field in typical configurations. The plasma transport efficiency and spatial distribution has been measured over a large parameter range, and correlated with the various theories. The plasma beam may be approximated as a Gaussian distribution which is displaced in the B × G direction, where G is in the direction of the centrifugal force, while a displacement in the plane of symmetry is surprisingly found in the − G direction. The total convected ion current decreases exponentially with distance from the toroidal filter entrance. Macroparticle transport within the magnetic filter has been analyzed, and it has been shown that electrostatic reflection from the walls can occur if the magnetic field is weak. Filtered arc sources with improved throughput performance and novel geometries have been built, and are now available commercially. The range of coatings deposited with FVAD has been expanded to include metals, oxides, and nitrides, as well as diamond-like carbon. In several cases, coatings having the highest quality reported in the literature have been fabricated with the FVAD technique, and one commercial application has been reported.

2D expansion of the low-density interelectrode vacuum arc plasma jet in an axial magnetic field

The two-dimensional expansion of a current carrying plasma jet in the interelectrode gap of a vacuum arc with an axial magnetic field is analysed by finding the steady state solution of the fully ionized plasma in the hydrodynamic approximation. Two models are presented: (1) expansion into a duct with known geometry and (2) free jet expansion. The first approach models the plasma jet expansion with a conical shape. In the second model the geometric position of the free boundary was determined by the free hydrodynamic jet expansion into vacuum without and with the influence of a magnetic field. In the case of plasma expanding into a conical guide, it was found that the flow field in the near-axis region does not depend on the cone angle for cone angles . The radial velocity becomes comparable to the axial velocity due to the expansion, depending on the cone angle and the initial axial velocity. A model of the free boundary plasma expansion was developed, based on the jet-like (i.e. axial velocity larger than the radial velocity) plasma flow in the vacuum arc near the cathode spot. The free jet boundary was calculated by solving the equations for the normal and tangential velocity components at the free boundary. It was found that the plasma jet had a conical shape, and for axial distances 3 - 4 times greater than the initial jet radius, the radial velocity becomes comparable with the axial velocity if no magnetic field is imposed. Imposition of a magnetic field reduces the radial component of the plasma velocity. The streamline angle is about for a 0.001 T magnetic field and about for a 0.01 T magnetic field. The plasma remains quasi-neutral in all regions except in the space charge boundary layer, where an outward directed electric field appears for low magnetic fields, and an inward directed field is present for strong magnetic fields.

Theoretical study of plasma expansion in a magnetic field in a disk anode vacuum arc

The low-density plasma flow in an axial magnetic field to a disk-shaped anode in a vacuum arc was studied theoretically using a two-dimensional model. The plasma expansion was modeled using the sourceless steady-state hydrodynamic equations, where the free boundary of the plasma was determined by a self-consistent solution of the gas-dynamic and electrical current equations. The anode was modeled as a current and plasma collector, which does not influence the plasma flow field. Magnetic forces from both the azimuthal self-magnetic field, and the imposed axial magnetic field were taken into account. It was found that the self-magnetic field does not substantially influence either the plasma jet shape, density, velocity, or the current density distribution for arc currents I⩽200 A. On the other hand, the plasma jet angle (α0) at the starting plane and the radial plasma density gradient force in the expansion region do have a strong influence on the plasma and current flow. The mass and current flow in a 500...

Electron transport phenomena in plasma devices with E/spl times/B drift

A review of plasma devices involving electron drift in crossed electric and magnetic fields (EtimesB drift) and electron transport phenomena is presented. There are two important peculiarities of EtimesB system: possibility to maintain a large electric field in a quasi-neutral plasma which allows transport of relatively large intensity beam of charged particle and an efficient impact ionization due to closed electron drift. Several technological applications of devices based on electron drift in EtimesB field are under development, including plasma immersion ion implantation, energetic deposition of materials, magnetron sputtering, and plasma propulsion. Despite very different applications, the underlining physics of operation of these devices is very similar. One of the important physical phenomena is the electron transport across a magnetic field. Experimental and theoretical study reveals that electrons undergo anomalous transport and several possible mechanisms are proposed and studied previously. Anomalous electron transport mechanisms such as Bohm diffusion and near-wall conductivity are reviewed and assessed for two EtimesB devices, namely magnetron and Hall thruster. A modified model of the near-wall conductivity that takes into account various sheath effects is developed. It is shown that an axial electric field in the sheath can significantly affect the near wall conductivity

On the model of Teflon ablation in an ablation-controlled discharge

A kinetic model is developed of Teflon ablation caused by a plasma. The model takes into account the returned atom flux that forms in the non-equilibrium layer during the ablation. This approach makes it possible to calculate the ablation rate for the case when the Teflon surface temperature and the density and temperature in the plasma bulk are known.

Vaporization of heated materials into discharge plasmas

The vaporization of condensed materials in contact with high-current discharge plasmas is considered. A kinetic numerical method named direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) and analytical kinetic approaches based on the bimodal distribution function approximation are employed. The solution of the kinetic layer problem depends upon the velocity at the outer boundary of the kinetic layer which varies from very small, corresponding to the high-density plasma near the evaporated surface, up to the sound speed, corresponding to evaporation into vacuum. The heavy particles density and temperature at the kinetic and hydrodynamic layer interface were obtained by the analytical method while DSMC calculation makes it possible to obtain the evolution of the particle distribution function within the kinetic layer and the layer thickness.

Electrical discharge in the Teflon cavity of a coaxial pulsed plasma thruster

In this work, we analyze the physical processes of a pulsed discharge in a dielectric (Teflon) cavity. This type of discharge is generated in a coaxial pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) having a central Teflon cavity to produce a high-pressure cloud of ablation products during the discharge pulse. The primary intended role of this model is to provide upstream boundary conditions for particle simulation codes used to study the exhaust plume. The main features of the electrical discharge in the dielectric cavity include Joule heating of the plasma, heat transfer to the dielectric, decomposition of the dielectric followed by partial ionization, and acceleration of the plasma up to the sound speed at the cavity exit. We consider a diffuse type of discharge assuming that all plasma parameters are uniform in the cavity. The system of equations is based on the plasma energy balance, thermal conductivity, dielectric ablation, and mass balance. It is found that most of the energy of the plasma column is carried off by particle convection to the dielectric and by radiation. It is found that during the pulse, the electron density peaks at about m and decreases to m toward the end of the pulse, whereas the electron temperature peaks at about 2.2 eV and decays to 1.5 eV. Teflon surface temperature peaks at about 650 K. Predicted plasma temperature and ablated mass are found to be in agreement with available experimental data.

Structure and dynamics of high-current arc cathode spots in vacuum

Experiments are reported on the number and displacement velocity of arc spots on CuCr and Cu cathodes in the current range 40 - 1500 A. The spot number was found to increase linearly with current. The average current per resolvable spot amounted to for CuCr and for Cu. For times after ignition random spot displacement R was observed, having mean square values of for Cu and for CuCr. The Cu spots showed brightness fluctuations with intervals of . Because of this obvious dynamics, the theoretical models of the spot plasma must be time-dependent. A self-consistent theoretical description of Cu and Cr plasmas is given, yielding the cathode temperature, plasma density, electric field strength, current density and plasma velocity in the time range 10 ns to 3 ms.