Pulsed vacuum-arc ion source operated with a "triggerless" arc initiation method

Vacuum arcs can be initiated by simply applying a sufficiently high voltage (similar to 1 kV) between the anode and cathode, provided that there is a conducting path between these electrodes. Typically, the conducting path is obtained by coating the ceramic insulator. Plasma is formed explosively at the coating-cathode interface. Since neither a trigger supply nor a trigge r electrode are required, the method has been dubbed "triggerless" arc init iation. Triggerless operation of a vacuum arc ion source was demonstrated f or a number of cathode materials. It was found that triggerless operation i s very reliable as long as the balance of deposition and erosion of the con ducting material leads to a steady-state path resistance in the range from 1 Omega to 100 k Omega. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748 (00)50002-1].