Ion acceleration and cooling in gasless self-sputtering
Copper plasma with hyperthermal directed velocity (8.8 eV) but very low temperature (0.6 eV) has been obtained using self-sputtering far above the runaway threshold. Ion energy distribution functions (IEDFs) were simultaneously measured at 34 locations. The IEDFs show the tail of the Thompson distribution near the magnetron target. They transform to shifted Maxwellians with the ions being accelerated and cooled. We deduce the existence of a highly asymmetric, pressure-driven potential hump which acts as a controlling"watershed" between the ion return flux and the expanding plasma.
- Research Organization:
- Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Accelerator& Fusion Research Division
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 1001044
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-4110E
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 97; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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