Probe measurements of ion energy distribution in magnetized plasmas

A probe method for measurement of the ion energy distribution in magnetized plasmas is proposed. A cylindrical probe with end plugs is oriented parallel to the magnetic field and used to reduce the electron contribution to the total probe current. The contribution of ions to the second derivative of the total current is identified by experiments with different probe orientation and strength of the magnetic field. The ion density obtained from the measured ion energy distribution is in good agreement with the electron density obtained from measured electron energy distribution.