Cathode erosion rates in vacuum-arc discharges

Erosion rates of metal-vapor vacuum-arc cathode materials have been measured for a number of different cathode elements. The measured rates are compared with the rates predicted by a simple estimate based on the known ion generation rates. The agreement is good for the more refractory metals. For the low boiling-point metals there is evidence for an additional mass loss, as, for example, might be associated with an intense macroparticle generation.<
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