Supersonic plasma flows with densities of 1013-1016 cm-3 find application in various fields of physics and technology such as surface modification, simulation of plasma impact in fusion facilities, and laboratory studies of space phenomena. The work outlined here describes a pulsed vacuum arc source of supersonic dense metal plasma flow. The design, working principle, features of the power supply circuit, and main parameters of the plasma source in relation to the parameter of the vacuum arc pulse are discussed. Flows of ionized aluminum, copper, tantalum, and molybdenum were investigated. At a vacuum arc current amplitude of 25 kA, the source generated a plasma with a density of 3 × 1015 cm-3. The ion velocity in the plasma flow and the ion charge state composition were measured. For an aluminum cathode, we have carried out measurements of the macroparticle fraction and the erosion rate. This supersonic metal ion plasma flow source is primarily designed for studying the flow interaction with an inhomogeneous magnetic field, with simultaneous application of electron cyclotron resonance irradiation from high-power pulsed gyrotrons, but may also find other applications.

中文翻译：

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超音速金属离子流脉冲真空电弧等离子体源

密度为 1013-1016 cm-3 的超音速等离子体流在物理和技术的各个领域都有应用，例如表面改性、聚变设施中的等离子体撞击模拟以及空间现象的实验室研究。此处概述的工作描述了超音速致密金属等离子体流的脉冲真空电弧源。讨论了等离子源的设计、工作原理、电源电路的特点以及与真空电弧脉冲参数相关的等离子源的主要参数。研究了离子化铝、铜、钽和钼的流动。在 25 kA 的真空电弧电流幅度下，源产生密度为 3 × 1015 cm-3 的等离子体。测量等离子体流中的离子速度和离子电荷态组成。对于铝阴极，我们已经对大颗粒分数和侵蚀率进行了测量。这种超音速金属离子等离子体流源主要用于研究与非均匀磁场的流动相互作用，同时应用来自高功率脉冲回旋加速器的电子回旋共振辐射，但也可以找到其他应用。