Vacuum-arc-generated macroparticles in the nanometer range

Micron and submicron "macroparticles" are produced along with the plasma at vacuum are cathode spots. Published data refer to the sim range 0.2-100 mu m The lower limit is determined by the resolution of the equipment used (u sually scanning electron microscopes). In the present study we focus on the detection and characterization of nanosize macroparticles ("nanoparticles" ) using atomic force microscopy and field-emission scanning electron micros copy, New information is gathered on material-dependent size distribution f unctions as well as on the effectiveness of magnetic filtering for nanopart icles.