Ion flux from the cathode region of a vacuum arc

This paper reviews the properties of the cathode ion flux generated in the vacuum arc. The structure and distribution of mass erosion from individual cathode spots and the characteristics of current carriers from the cathode region at moderate arc currents are described. An appreciable ion flux (∼10% of total arc current) is emitted from the cathode of a vacuum arc. This ion flux is strongly peaked in the direction of the anode, though some ion flux may be seen even at angles below the plane of the cathode surface. The observed spatial distribution of the ion flux is expressed quite well as an exponential function of solid angle. The ion flux is quite energetic, with average ion potentials much larger than the arc voltage, and generally contains a considerable fraction of multiply-charged ions. The average ion potential and ion multiplicity increase significantly for cathode materials with higher arc voltages, but decrease with increasing arc current for a particular material. The main theories concerning ion acceleration in cathode spots are the potential hump theory (PH), which assumes that all ions are created at the same potential, and the gas dynamic theory (GD), which assumes that all ions are created with the same flow velocity. Experimental data on the potentials and energies of individual ions indicates that these theories in their original forms are not quite correct, however extensions or modifications of the PH and GD theories seem very likely to be able to predict correct values for the charge states, potentials, and energies of individual ions.