Optical Investigation of Excited Species Distribution in Low-Current Vacuum Discharges

It is well-known that when high currents flow through a vacuum gap, anode spots are formed on the anode surface. However, anode flare phenomena are also observed in low-current vacuum discharges. The objective of this article is to experimentally observe the spatial distribution of excited Cu atoms and ions generated from a single cathode spot (CS) and to interpret the mechanism of the anode flare at low currents (40–80 A). Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) techniques have been used for investigating low-current vacuum arc discharge confined to axial magnetic fields (AMFs). The effects of AMFs and arc currents on the axial distribution of the radiation intensity were investigated for different copper ionization states (Cu I and Cu II). The highest luminance was found near the electrodes for both excited neutral copper atoms and ions, and only weak spectral lines of excited Ni atoms were detected in the near-anode region. With increasing the external AMF, a bright “spot” appeared near the anode surface. In the visible light range, excited atoms were the main contributor to anode flare in low-current vacuum discharge. As measured by LIF, the density of copper atoms near the anode increased from 10
$\times 10^{17}$
to 14
$\times 10^{17}\,\,\text{m}^{-3}$
when the applied magnetic fields increased from 31 to 74 mT. The anode flare contains far more excited atoms from the cathode material than the anode material. They are the results of cathodic plasma expansion to reach the anode after charge neutralization and reflection on the anode surface. For the single CS, the observed fact that a tiny number of atoms leave the anode surface and participate in the anode flare is more likely the result of a sputtering effect rather than thermal evaporation by cathode electron stream.