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Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243

A model describing the arc between closely spaced electrodes夽


B.E. Djakov*
Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee, Soxa 1784, Bulgaria

Abstract

Arc discharges between evaporating electrodes are described in terms of mechanisms such as T}F electron
emission, thermal evaporation and equilibrium ionisation. If the plasma region is of small (micrometer)
dimensions and strongly coupled with the walls (electrodes), an approach based on the balance of electric
charge, particles, momentum and energy can be used. A set of equations is written down for a number of
microscopic discharge parameters. Numerical solutions are obtained and compared with experiments on
arcs due to `#oatinga of electric contacts, separation of contacts and electric explosion of a thin
wire.  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The development in areas such as electric switches, exploding wires and electric-spark deposition
depends on our knowledge of the basic characteristics and underlying physical mechanisms of arc
in gaps of micrometer size.
Such discharges belong to the class of metal vapour arcs (MVA), as their operation is strongly
in#uenced by metal vapour released from one or both electrodes due to energy input from the
discharge; the vapour, subsequently ionized, serves as the electrically conductive medium. Al-
though particular attention has been given to the vacuum arc [1,2], observations of other discharge
phenomena of similar nature have been reported [3,4]. The common feature is the formation of
a dense plasma of dimensions smaller than the molecular mean free path in the electrode gap before
discharge. Yet the case of collisionless plasma diodes, known as `Knudsena diodes [5], will not
be considered in this paper. On the contrary, it is assumed that during the discharge the relevant


Paper presented at the 11th International School on Vacuum, Electron and Ion Technologies, 20}25 September 1999,
Varna, Bulgaria.
* Tel.: #359-2-7144-574; fax: #359-2-9753-201.
E-mail address: boyan@ie.bas.bg (B.E. Djakov).

0042-207X/00/$ - see front matter  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 4 2 - 2 0 7 X ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 7 3 - 1
234 B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243

mean free paths are smaller than the discharge dimensions so that the ionized vapour is in quasi-
equilibrium [1, p. 245]. A simple case of plasma-sheath}electrode interaction of this type is the
vacuum arc cathode spot. Lee and Greenwood [6] initiated a theoretical analysis of the plasma-
cathode interface based on the simultaneous solution of a set of equations describing several
plasma, sheath and surface processes. Their approach was taken up and extended by Ecker [7],
Beilis [8] and others.
In spite of considerable progress in the description of `longa metal vapour arcs (e.g. [2,9]), for the
arcs of micrometer length (AML) no attempts have been made to construct a uni"ed model that
includes all (electrode and plasma) regions.
The present paper describes a model of AML based on certain physical mechanisms, such as
thermal evaporation, T}F electron emission and equilibrium ionisation. We follow and extend the
theory of Lee}Ecker}Beilis [6}8]. The close interaction between a plasma region of small size and
its interfacing walls is analysed in terms of conservation of electric charge, particles, momentum
and energy in electron, atom and ion #uxes to and from the walls. A system of equations is
formulated which determines the parameters such as, particles densities and temperatures, surface
electric "elds, electric potentials and various #uxes, if the discharge integral electric characteristics,
the geometry and the material constants are known. Numerical solutions are obtained that are
directly relevant to particular experimental situations.

2. Arcs with evaporating electrodes

Our theoretical description is valid for MVA of di!erent con"gurations. Typical examples are
shown in Fig. 1. All details of the present formulation can be found in an earlier version of the
model [10] which explains some basic features of the vacuum arc (Fig. 1a). The version developed
in this paper can be used for the short electric arc [3,11,12] (Fig. 1b) as well as for the initial stage of
arcs initiated by a rupture of the bridge of molten metal in electric switches [3] and exploded wires
[4,13] (Fig. 1c). A similar situation is encountered in the so-called unipolar arcs [14] (Fig. 1d).

3. Model

A plasma generated by an electric arc is contained by two electrically conducting solid surfaces
(electrodes or walls), and a space charge sheath is formed at each of them. No time dependence is
considered, and the in#uence of all #ux components that are parallel to the walls is neglected. It is
further assumed that all the parameters are constant on each solid-sheath and sheath-plasma
boundary. Important parameters are the #uxes (perpendicular to each surface) of electric charge,
atomic particles (AP) (atoms and ions), momentum and energy. The AP #uxes, the current densities
and the macroscopic velocities are shown in Fig. 2.
It is presumed that the discharge dimensions and the radius of curvature for all surfaces are much
larger than the sheath thickness corresponding to several Debye lengths. This means that the
one-dimensional description can be used at each wall.
In this study, noncollisional sheaths are considered. This as well as all other prerequisites of the
Lee}Ecker}Beilis theory of the arc-electrode interface are discussed in Chapter 7 of the book [1].
Estimates for some characteristic lengths in the cathode region are given in [10]. The assumpion
B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243 235

Fig. 1. Arc discharges with evaporating electrodes; (a) vacuum arc, (b) short arc, (c) exploding wire, (d) unipolar arc.

Fig. 2. Fluxes of particles and electric charge.

for a collisionless sheath is valid for ¹ "1}4 eV and n "10}5;10 m\. All computational
C C
results of Section 6 of this paper and Table 1, lie within this range of parameters.
The plasma parameters are all assumed to be uniform, as we study plasmas of small dimensions.
As the plasma region is collision dominated, in reality gradients may develop. The in#uence of the
electron temperature gradient will be discussed in Section 6.
236 B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243

Table 1
Examples of model calculations

Parameter calculated Vacuum arc Short arc A Short arc B

w 1 1 2 1 2
I (A) } [7.2] [1.7]
S (10\ m) } [72] [6.5]
¹ (10 K) 4.17 [4.50] [4.35]
U
j (10 A m\) [1.0] 1.0 2.6
; (V) [14.0] 14.0 3.1 19.7 5.3
U
n (10 m\) 1.87 11.9 4.2
¹ (10 K) 2.3 1.06 1.8
C
Z 1.16 0.16 0.88
; (eV) 11.0 7.72 7.72
G
¹ (10 K) 12 4.5 8.5
j (10 Am\) 2.3 2.0 5.0
NU
j (10 Am\) 6.7 8.0 4.3 21 10
CU
E (10 Vm\) 1.85 1.4 0.94 2.4 1.7
U
p (10 Pa) 4.8 8.5 6.7
U
[ ] shows an input parameter.

4. General equations for arcs maintained by wall evaporation

Although here we treat a two-electrode discharge system, for the sake of generality the equations
are written in a form suitable for a system with N walls.

4.1. Particle, momentum and energy yuxes

Expressions for the #uxes of any particle property may be written down immediately by the
methods of molecular gas dynamics [15], if the velocity distribution function for the carrier
particles is known. For the wth wall (w"1, 2, 2, N), at the plasma-sheath boundary the electrons
and atoms leaving the quasi-equilibrium plasma have `semi-maxwelliana velocity distributions
with temperatures ¹ (electrons) and ¹ (atoms), and macroscopic velocity u , perpendicular to the
C U
wall.
Since for the electron thermal velocity we have v <"u ", the electron current density at the
RC U
plasma-sheath boundary (wth wall) is

 
e;
j "!en v exp ! U , (1)
@U  C CR k¹
C
where n is the plasma electron density and ; the plasma-wall electric potential di!erence. The
C U
amount of energy carried by this `back#owa electron current through unit area per unit time is
q "j (2k¹ /e#; ). (2)
@U @U C U
B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243 237

The plasma is modelled as a mixture of electrons and `model ionsa of charge Ze and ionization
energy ; , which has been de"ned [10] as the average for all types of AP: neutral atoms, singly and
G
multiply charged ions. Two auxiliary quantities, X and >, are introduced
X"1, >"Z for Z(1,
(3)
X"Z, >"1 for Z*1.
The relation between electron density and AP density n is
n "Zn. (4)
C
The AP thermal and macroscopic velocities, v and u , may be of the same order of magnitude;
R U
therefore the #uxes of particles and momentum due to atoms moving toward the wth wall are
C "!n(1!>)v [exp(!t )#pt (1#erf t )], t "u /(2k¹/m), (5)
?U  R U U U U U

   
1
P "!(1/p)n (1!>)k¹ t exp(!t )#p #t (1#erf t ) . (6)
?U U U 2 U U
(Energy #ux balance for the atoms and ions at the plasma-sheath boundary is not incorporated
into this analysis.)
In the calculations of the ion #ux C , there are two basic approaches. Some authors e.g. [10]
NU
have assumed cold ions accelerated across a `presheatha region thus forming a #ux
!cn v (5a)
N N
at the presheath}sheath boundary, while others (e.g. [1] Chapter 7) have used an alternative
expression, !n v , which describes the #ux at plasma}presheath instead of presheath}sheath
N N
boundary (v is the ion acoustic velocity, n the ion density and c(1 is de"ned below). To e!ect
N N
a comparison between both approaches, the set of equations describing the vacuum arc cathode
spot [10] was modi"ed by replacing !cn v with !n v , and solutions for identical input
N N N N
parameters were found. Some output parameters remain almost una!ected and others
(AP temperature and density) di!er marginally [16].
In view of the above comparison it seems useless to incorporate a more re"ned ion dynamics
theory [17] into our model which is already based on a number of simplifying assumptions. In
addition, the Child}Langmuir sheath theory cannot be applied directly to an arc-electrode sheath
without considering the electron emission and ion accomodation at the surface. Therefore, the
simple description o!ered by the "rst alternative has been chosen with c"0.55 [17]. This
approach is then extended to arbitrary values of u /v .
U N
First we note that when the plasma #ows toward the wall with speed u 'v no pre-sheath is
U N
needed, the ion #ux being formed by the on-coming ions, C "n u . If the plasma #ows in the
N N U

 The `presheatha alternative has advantages over our approach in that (i) no knowledge of ¹ is required, (ii) the Bohm
criterion is nearly independent of ion kinetics in the plasma, while here a maxwellian distribution is presumed. To extend
(6) to arbitrary values of u /v is, however, not an easy task, since, to our knowledge, no rigorous theory of ion sheath
U N
formation in moving plasmas has so far been developed. In this study simple expressions for the ion #uxes are used.
238 B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243

positive direction, the ion #ux is reduced against its `Bohma value (5a), a reasonable approxima-
tion being a linear fall with u . Thus, our approximation over the entire range of u is
U U


cen v for "u "/v )c,
C N U N
en u for u /v (!c,
j " C U U N (7)
NU en v for c(u /v )2c,
C N U N
0 for u /v '2c,
U N
C "j /Xe, (8)
NU NU


C mu for u /v (!c,
P " NU U U N (9)
NU C mv for u /v '!c.
NU U U N
Due to the small mass of the electrons, their contribution to the momentum balance (18) can be
neglected [10].

4.2. Emission of particles from the walls and plasma generation

The #ows of electrons and atoms from a wall toward the plasma are due to T}F electron
emission and thermal evaporation (depending on the surface conditions: wall temperature ¹ ,
U
electric "eld E , electron work function u , evaporation constants A , B , C and D ),
U U U U U U
j "j (E , ¹ , u ), (10)
CU CU U U U
lg p "A /¹ #B #C lg ¹ #D ¹ . (11)
U U U U U U U U
C "p /(2pmk¹ ). (12)
U U U
Here j is the electron emission current density, and p and C the equilibrium vapour pressure
CU U U
and vapour #ux, respectively. Relatively simple methods to compute j and C (10)}(12) for clean
CU U
#at surfaces of metals have been proposed by Christov and Vodenicharov [18] (T}F electron
emission) and Ecker [7] (thermal evaporation). The net #ux of atoms and ions from each wall is
related to the total density, n, of AP in the plasma
C "nu . (13)
U U
It is assumed that the plasma is generated by equilibrium ionisation reactions governed by
Saha's equation. The plasma composition is determined by the ionisation potentials and partition
functions of all ion species that are present. Thus we have [10]
Z"Z(n, ¹ ) (14)
C
; "; (n, ¹ ) (15)
G G C
4.3. Balance of yuxes

The equations for electric charge, mass and momentum conservation at the plasma-sheath
boundary are
j "j #( j #j ) (16)
U @U NU CU
B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243 239

C "C #(C #C ) (17)


U U NU ?U
cn k¹ #1/2p #% #% "nk¹#n k¹ #C mu (18)
C C U ?U NU C C U U
Eq. (18) was discussed in an earlier paper [10]. All #uxes of particles traverse the sheath without
change.
The energy balance of the plasma electrons requires [8]

j ; !q !j ; "q (19)
CU U @U NU G CU
where the left-hand side terms represent energy injected by beam electrons, losses due to `back-
#owa electrons and losses of ionisation energy with ions that leave the plasma. The right-hand side
term represents electron energy transported across the plasma, at least partly, by electric current

q *3.2(k¹ /e)j (20)


CU C U

4.4. Electric xeld, electric current and overall balance

The electric "eld generated at each wall surface by the positive electric charge of the sheath is [6]

E "(4/e )[(m ; )/(2e)][ j (m/m )!j ] (21)


U  C U NU C CU
In addition, relations that govern the entire discharge system are considered. Let the walls
(electrodes) have areas S , S , 2, S . The geometrical arrangement may require one or several
  ,
relations of the type

F (S , S , 2, S )"0 (i*1) (22)


G   ,
The discharge system interacts with its environment at least in two ways, through the electric
power supply and through the energy losses. The latter type of interaction is not considered in this
paper; instead, we prescribe the electrode surface temperatures. The total electric current is

I" I " I  , I "S " j " (23)


UY 
U U U U
UY U
where w and w refer to the walls that serve as anodes and cathodes.
Finally, in general form the balance of #uxes of particles, components of momentum or energy,
for the whole system, is included in the form

S U "0 (24)
U U
U
where U "C , % or q .
U U U CU

 A wall is any surface where #uxes of particles may terminate or originate.


240 B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243

5. Equations for arcs with two closely spaced electrodes with equal temperature

The discharge system consists of a plasma and two sheaths sandwiched between two #at, paral-
lel electrodes (Fig. 1b), i.e. N"2 (w"1, 2). For a negligible interelectrode distance, Eq. (22) is
reduced to
S "S . (22a)
 
It is seen that our assumption for particle #ows, perpendicular to the walls, holds. The case of
equal electrode temperatures is considered,
¹ "¹ (25)
 
with a prescribed value of ¹ . It is clear that

C "C "0, p "p . (26)
   
It follows from (22)}(24)
j ,!j "I/S , (27)
  
C /C , P ,!P , (28)
   
q "!q . (29)
C C
Equations (13) and (26) give
u "u "0 (30)
 
and, by means of (7),
j "j . (31)
N N
Now the set (4), (5), (7), (8), (10) !w"1, 2, (11), (12), (14), (15), (16) !w"1, 2, (17), (18),
(19) !w"1, 2, (21) !w"1, 2, (27), (29) provides 20 Equations for the 20 variables
(C , C , q , q , n and 15 that are listed in the "rst column of Table 1; ¹ , S and I are the input
 N C C C  
parameters).

6. Results

Two typical solutions of the equation set formulated in Section 5 (for copper electrodes) are
presented in Table 1. The arcing voltage of such short arcs is also found,
;"; !; ("10.9 V for arc A , or 14.4 V for arc B ) (32)
 
For comparison, a solution for a vacuum arc (equation set formulated in Section 5, N"1), with
the same electrode material and same values of ; and j as arc A, is also shown in Table 1.
 
Solutions for short arcs with copper electrodes and a range of input parameters, ¹ and j (with
 
Eq. (27) decoupled from the set), are shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
A check by formula (20) is provided by Fig. 4a. In our computational example, for temperatures
¹ '5330 K only a part of the #ux q , namely q , is carried by electric current. The electron
 C H
B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243 241

Fig. 3. Results of calculations as a function of the current density; the electrode temperature ¹ "¹ is a parameter.
 

conduction of heat is, probably, responsible for the other part of q . Therefore, should the plasma
C
be still uniform for the model to be valid, extremely short ((10\ m) electrode distances ought to
be considered as the estimated electron temperature gradient is about 10 K m\.
242 B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243

Fig. 4. Results of calculations as a function of the electrode temperature for a given current density.

Our solution is valid for times much shorter than the electrode characteristic thermal time
(typically &10\ s).
We report next a comparison with short arc experiments [3] which provide simple and reliable
measurements of two arc parameters. If a capacitor is discharged (&100 A) through two copper
electrodes that are held together by applying a controlled force F"1 to a few Newtons, an arc may
exist part time. The arcing produces voltages of about 6 V at currents 60}80 A, practically without
separating the electrodes. The e!ect * known to contact engineers as `#oatinga * is explained [3]
by the balance between the external force, F, and the vapour pressure developed by arc electrode
evaporation. The `#oatinga persists for about 10\ s, or shorter than the electrode thermal time
constant, which for the numerical example below is about 10\ s. As an input quantity for our
`N"2a model we need, apart from the current "xed at 60 A, the contact area. This is de"ned by
the surface of mechanical contact prior to arcing, which is estimated [1] as S+1;10\ m for
F"1 N and copper electrodes. The computational results are F"1.4 N and ; !; "4.3 V, in
 
agreement with the experimental values [3] mentioned above.
Short arcs with equal temperatures of both electrode surfaces are produced immediately after the
rupture of a molten bridge between two separating contacts [3]. Extremely high temperatures are
achieved in the liquid metal due to the excessive Joule heating at its most narrow portion. The
`arc Ba example of Table 1 describes an arc between copper electrodes at currents not far from the,
experimental minimum current of 0.43 A, and predicts a correct value (32) for the voltage its
experimental value being 13$0.5 V.
Microarcs of similar type may also accompany the electric explosion of a thin wire under
carefully controlled conditions [4,13]. If in our calculations ¹ is equal to the boiling temperature

B.E. Djakov / Vacuum 58 (2000) 233}243 243

of the electrode material, we obtain ;+50 V at j+10 A m\ and ;+200 V at j+10 A m\,
in agreement with the arcing voltage of 50}200 V measured experimentally.
The equal electrode temperatures will not be maintained during arcing. For I"100 A and
S"2;10\ m, the electrode energy inputs were estimated (see [7]) as 1.8;10 W m\ at the
cathode and 4.9;10 W m\ at the anode. The anode temperature will rise, therefore symmetric
arcs would change into anode arcs, in agreement with the experiments [11].

7. Concluding remark

The "rst step has been made towards an analysis of complex discharge systems with intensive
wall (electrode) evaporation. This model extends the `vacuum arca approach [6}8,10]. The present
results compare favourably with the experimental data on arcs at extremely short electrode
distances. Further work remains to be done on arcs with electrodes at di!erent temperatures.

References

[1] La!erty JM editor. Vacuum Arcs: theory and applications, New York: Wiley, 1980.
[2] Boxman RL, Martin PJ, Sanders DM editors. Handbook of Vacuum Arc Science and Technology: fundamentals
and applications, Park Ridge, NJ: Noyes Publications, 1995.
[3] Holm R. Electric contacts. Berlin: Springer, 1967.
[4] Yukimura K, Watanabe Y, Urabe J. Proceedings of the eighth International Conference on Gas Discharges and
Their Applications. Leeds, Leeds University Press, 1985. p. 83.
[5] Moizhes B editor. Thermoionic converters and low temperature plasma, Moscow: Nauka, 1973.
[6] Lee TH, Greenwood A. J Appl Phys 1961;32:916}21.
[7] Ecker G. General Electric TIS Report No. 71-C-195, 1971.
[8] Beilis I. J Tech Phys 1974;44:400}12.
[9] Beilis I, Djakov BE, Juttner B, Pursch H. J Phys D 1997;30:119}27.
[10] Djakov BE. J Phys D 1983;16:343}60.
[11] Germer LH, Boyle WS. J Appl Phys 1956;27:32}47.
[12] Vladkova ZI, Srebrov BA, Djakov BE, Proceedings of the eighth International Conference on Gas Discharges and
Their Applications, Leeds; Leeds University Press, 1985; p. 455.
[13] Yukimura K, Watanabe Y, Urabe J. Eng Jap 1987;107:22}34.
[14] Hantzsche E. Beitr Plasmaphys 1980;20:329}35.
[15] Bird GA. Molecular gas dynamics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976.
[16] Djakov BE. Bulg J Phys 1984;11:327}34.
[17] Kamke D, Rose HJ. Z Phys 1956;145:83}99.
[18] Christov SG, Vodenicharov CM. Solid-State Electron. 1968;11:757}61.

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