Instability of plasma plume of micro-hollow cathode discharge

Journal Article · Sun Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4935116· OSTI ID:22489876

Levko, D. ^[1]; Bliokh, Y. P.; Gurovich, V. Tz.; Krasik, Ya. E. ^[2]

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1. Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States)
2. Department of Physics, Technion, 32000 Haifa (Israel)

The micro-hollow cathode gas discharge driven by thermionic emission is studied using the two-dimensional particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collisions simulation. The electron current is extracted from the plasma plume penetrating into the keeper–anode space through a small keeper orifice from the cathode-keeper space. The results of simulations and a simplified analytical model showed that the plasma density and extracted current can exhibit deep modulation in the range of frequencies of tens of MHz. This modulation appears when the space-charge limited current between the plume boundary and the anode exceeds the plasma thermal electron current through the orifice.

• OSTI ID: 22489876
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 11; 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

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ANODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CURRENTS
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTRONS
HOLLOW CATHODES
MHZ RANGE
MODULATION
MONTE CARLO METHOD
ORIFICES
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLUMES
SPACE CHARGE
THERMIONIC EMISSION
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS