Simulation of a multicusp magnetic system of an accelerated neutral particle source

The article considers the solution of an important technological problem of cleaning dielectric surfaces, during which the formation of a surface potential is eliminated, requiring the development of specialized sources of accelerated neutral particles integrated into ion-plasma installations. A significant disadvantage of these sources is the low density and poor uniformity of the output flow, which leads to an increase in the time of the technological operation and deterioration in the quality of surface treatment. To eliminate these disadvantages, a multicusp magnetic field system can be integrated into the device to reduce the plasma load on the anode, reduce the effective area of the anode and increase the density of the vapor-plasma flow. To optimize the design of the source, a simulation of the magnetic system was carried out and the calculation of the distribution of the magnetic field in the working area was conducted. For optimal operation of the source, it is necessary to achieve the largest possible magnitude of magnetic field induction at the walls of the working volume and as small as possible in the central region in which the vapor-plasma flow moves. The simulation results show that there is an optimal solution when choosing the number of permanent magnets holding the gas-discharge plasma. The retention effect increases with an increase in the number of permanent magnets, while the output of electrons from the loss cone becomes more frequent, which leads to a deterioration in the quality of the output flow. The optimal number of magnets is selected from the condition of balancing these two competitive effects.

Authors: S. A. Trifonov, K. S. Vorobyev, D. K. Kostrin, S. A. Martsinukov

Direction: Physics

Keywords: surface cleaning, accelerated neutral particles, gas-discharge source, technological installation, multicusp system, magnetic field, computer simulation

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