Instability enhanced thermalization of bi-Maxwellian EEDF in multi-dipole confined hot cathode discharge: an experimental observation

Abstract

Abstract In multi-dipole confined hot cathode discharges, the presence of up to three distinct electron species has been observed by performing linear fitting of the Langmuir probe I–V traces. Nevertheless, the fundamental mechanism underlying the generation of hot electrons remains ambiguous. This work presents experimental observations to comprehensively investigate the impact of the instability-enhanced thermalization effect on the thermal equilibrium of both hot and cold electrons. Temperature composition of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) was measured via a Langmuir probe, while instabilities was measured using a spectrum analyzer. The experimental results confirm the existence of a transition from a three-temperature Maxwellian EEDF composition to a two-temperature Maxwellian EEDF composition as the population of high-energy electrons increases. Furthermore, the process of thermalization between hot and cold electrons is found to be correlated to the effect of instability-enhanced collisions. The intensity of collisional instability also decreases with increased neutral collisionality.