Surface erosion by electrical arcs

The authors discuss traces of cathode spots from electrical arcs observed on the vessel walls of high temperature plasma experiments. They originate from short metal plasma discharges which can be ignited at the walls due to the Langmuir sheath potential in front of the walls and thus the hydrogen plasma acts as the anode. The arcs may also be caused by electrical potentials which are created by gradients in the plasma, by plasma motion or during disruptive plasma phases. The material eroded from the walls at the cathode spots contributes to impurity introduction into the hydrogen plasma. Further arcing is a critical issue in high intensity ion sources and in RF transmitters and antennas for plasma heating