Investigation of Energetic Ions in a 100-A Hollow Cathode

The role of ion acoustic turbulence in the formation of high-energy ion tails in the plume of a 100-A LaB6 hollow cathode is experimentally and theoretically examined. At fixed flow rate and varying discharge current, single-point measurements of fluctuation intensity in the cathode plume are taken and compared to ion energy measurements. It is shown that for high discharge current the formation of energetic ions is correlated with the amplitude of the ion acoustic turbulence. Two-dimensional maps of background plasma parameters and wave turbulence are made at the highest discharge current investigated, 140 A. A simple, one-dimensional quasilinear model for the interaction of the ion energy distribution with the ion acoustic turbulence is employed, and it is shown that the energy in the measured wave turbulence is sufficiently large to explain the formation of ion tails in the cathode plume. Mitigation techniques for minimizing the amplitude of the turbulence are discussed