Alkali-halogen plasma generation by dc magnetron discharge.

An alkali-halogen plasma is generated by a dc magnetron discharge using thermal cathodes under a uniform magnetic field. Alkali-salt vapor is dissociated and ionized by E×B-drift electron impact, and alkali positive ions and halogen negative ions are produced. A magnetic-filter region is situated at an exit of the discharge region and electrons are removed from the plasma. The electron emission and E/B fields are optimized, resulting in the alkali-halogen plasma with the ion density of 3×108 cm-3 at B=0.2 T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]