Ion implantation in confined, pinching metallic plasmas

A series of preliminary experiments have been carried out to obtain a metal lic arc discharge, in the form of an annular cylindrical column, carrying a current in the axial direction. To assert this geometry, a ring-shaped cat hode is adopted and an arc formation is triggered by heating the cathode ex ternally. The plasma, initially in the form of a cylindrical shell, is seen to be confined and pinched by its own magnetic field. The resulting, radia lly inward flux is observed to produce efficient and multidirectional impla ntation on targets placed near the axis, even without biasing. (C) 1999 Ame rican Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)02204-5].