The effects of transmission through a magnetic filter on the ion charge state distribution of a cathodic vacuum arc plasma

In this paper we report the effects of transmission through a 90/spl deg/ solenoidal magnetic filter on the ion charge state distribution of a vacuum arc plasma as a function of the magnetic field strength and the injection distance between the cathode and filter entrance. The mean ion charge state, measured using the time of flight technique, increased compared with the unfiltered value at low magnetic fields and then steadily decreased as the filter field was increased. At high fields, it was significantly lower than the unfiltered value.