Vacuum electric discharge initiated by accelerated nanoparticles

A static breakdown induced by the impact of particles detached from a point anode in a strong electric field, corresponding to the athermal field evap oration threshold, was studied by field ion microscopy. Under these conditi ons, the particle size threshold for the vacuum discharge initiation decrea ses by one order of magnitude as compared to the case of flat electrodes an d falls within a nanometer range of the average radius of bombarding charge d particles. The threshold energies of particles initiating a static electr ic discharge also exhibit a significant decrease. (C) 2001 MAIK "Nauka/Inte rperiodica".