Energy dependence of the carbon plasma beam on the arc voltage and the anode-cathode distance in the pulsed arc discharge method

The energies of the carbon plasma beams produced by the pulsed arc discharge method have been measured as a function of the arc voltage (1500-4000 V) and anode-cathode distance. The energies were determined by using the electro-optical time-of-flight method. The energy of the plasma rises steeply when the anode-cathode distance and voltage are increased. The anode-cathode distance varied from 0.6 to 4.6 cm and the plasma ion energies from 20 to 730 eV, respectively. The discharge voltage of 4000 V and distance of 4.6 cm were necessary for the plasma ion energy of 730 eV. The practical significance of highly energetic carbon plasma for the preparation of the adhesion layer of high-quality amorphous diamond-like carbon (DLC) protective coatings is presented.