Measurements of low-energy electron reflection at a plasma boundary
- Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433 (United States)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506 (United States)
- Department of Optics and Spectroscopy, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034 (Russian Federation)
It is demonstrated that low-energy (<3 eV) electron reflection from a solid surface in contact with a low-temperature plasma can have significant variation with time. An uncontaminated, i.e., “clean,” metallic surface (just after heating up to glow) in a plasma environment may have practically no reflection of low-energy incident electrons. However, a contaminated, i.e., “dirty,” surface (in some time after cleaning by heating) that has a few monolayers of absorbent can reflect low-energy incident electrons and therefore significantly affect the net electron current collected by the surface. This effect may significantly change plasma properties and should be taken into account in plasma experiments and models. A diagnostic method is demonstrated for measurements of low-energy electron absorption coefficient in plasmas with a mono-energetic electron group.
- OSTI ID:
- 22486499
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 10; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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