Observed Characteristics of Vacuum Arc Anode Phenomena Regarding the Influence of Electrode Material

Powder metallurgical manufactured Cu/Cr electrodes made from materials with different Cr morphology have been studied under the AC current load up to 6.5 kA. Special attention was paid to the appearance of various anode modes. Arc dynamics has been acquired by high-speed camera. NIR spectroscopy was used for determination of the time- and space-resolved anode surface temperature. Broadband absorption spectroscopy was applied for determination of the vapor density with respect to different anode modes. Existence ranges of various anode modes, as well as the results of anode surface temperature and Cr I density measurements for two electrode materials are presented and discussed.