Vacuum Arc with Boron-Containing Cathode

The paper reports on a study of the vacuum arc plasma produced with a lanthanum hexaboride and a boron carbide cathode for technological high-dose ion implantation. Compared to pure boron, these boron compounds are much more conducting, provide the operation of cathodic arcs with a current of hundred amperes and pulse duration of hundred microseconds, and allow the generation of boron-rich plasmas. The parameters of such plasma, including its mass-charge state measured by a time-of-flight spectrometer, are presented.