Plasma window characterization

Parameters of an arc Ar plasma discharge used as a plasma window with a discharge current of
50 A and a voltage of 58 V are presented. It is shown that this arc discharge allows one to
decrease the pressure at the low pressure end of the plasma window almost 380 times using
relatively low pumping at the low pressure end of the plasma window. Calculations of the plasma
parameters and their spatial distribution using a simple wall-stabilized arc model showed a
satisfactory agreement with the experimentally obtained data. It is shown that a significant decrease
in gas flow through the plasma window occurs due to the increase in plasma viscosity. An
improvement of the plasma window ignition and some of its design aspects are described as well.