Plasma source for auxiliary anode plasma generation in the electron source with grid plasma cathode

This paper presents an auxiliary source of anode plasma developed for the electron source with a plasma cathode based on a low-pressure arc discharge. The plasma source consists of three cells: the main ion-plasma system with closed electron drift and two auxiliary ones. The latter include a hollow cathode and a reflective discharge cell. The construction allows to generate and transport a submillisecond low-energy beam up to 25 keV with a diameter of 40 mm in axial magnetic field up to 80 mT. In the main mode of the auxiliary discharge, the anode plasma is created at a current of up to 15 A and with discharge voltage about 300 V. Using the source of auxiliary anode plasma allows you to expand the range of operating pressures of the electron source down to 3.6×10⁻³ Pa of argon and get rid of high-frequency beam current oscillations when operating at low pressure (up to 1.2×10⁻² Pa). (paper)