Characteristics of an elongated plasma column produced by magnetically coupled hollow cathode plasma source

An elongated plasma column in the presence of an axial magnetic field has been formed using a cylindrical hollow cathode (HC) and a constricted anode (CA). The plasma characteristics of the central line have been found to vary with the magnetic field strength and the axial distance from the source. It is believed that the primary electrons constituting the discharge current are steered by the axial magnetic field to undertake ionizing collisions along the plasma column. The current carrying electrons from the HC reach the anode by cross-field diffusion towards the central line. The above observation has been substantiated using a phenomenological model which links the observed characteristics of the source with the plasma column. The experimental results are found to be in qualitative agreement with the model.