High Density Fluorine Negative-Ion Source Generated by Utilizing Magnetized SF₆

Abstract

In a magnetized plasma column generated from an electronegative gas, negative - ions accumulate around the plasma column via radial diffusion. In this study, a dc discharge is applied in SF 6 gas to produce a plasma column, and the radial density profile of negative - ions is measured by Langmuir probes using the modified Bohm criterion. The gas pressure and discharge current dependences of negative - ion density are also measured. It is found that the negative - ion density of 8.0 × 10 17 m -3 is obtained around the plasma column at r = 1.0 cm when SF 6 pressure is 0.13 Pa and discharge current is 0.50 A. The negative-ion density has radial gradient, and the electron density is much low er in this region.