Study of Vacuum ARC Formation Using A One-Dimensional CPU/GPU Particle Code

In this work, we use a one-dimensional CPU/GPU code to numerical investigate the formation of vacuum arc between two planar copper electrodes. Understanding the physics of vacuum arcs is crucial for a wide range of plasma disciplines. Our team is actively developing a spacecraft thruster based on vacuum technology for use in nanosatellites. The simulation introduces atom particles based on cathode vapor pressure and electrons according to a thermionic emission model. The electrons accelerate towards the anode, and eventually ionize the injected neutrals. Collision-less and collisional (with DSMC) modes are considered. The number of simulation particles is kept within reasonable limits by performing periodic merging in the velocity space. We use the model to investigate temporal evolution of plasma potential, charge density, and ion velocity. Results from the kinetic simulations are compared to the analytical model of [1]. We also use them as inputs for a hybrid simulation in [2].