Characterisation of an indirectly heated cathode source using Langmuir probe diagnostics

The relationships between the electron temperature and arc control parameters were investigated for argon and BF3. The spatial distributions of electrons and ions were also studied using probes located in different positions in the arc. For the two species studied, the electron temperatures for similar arc conditions were found to be different and the nature of the dependence of this temperature on operating conditions was also found to be different.