Plasma guiding by means of multipole fields

A hexapole magnetic field has been employed for the purpose of guiding the accelerated plasma from an inductive gun. The properties of the plasma for both a linear and a curved guide field are determined. Results show that the plasma loss as a function of distance from the gun is greatly reduced, and that the purity of the plasma is enhanced after passing through the guide field. There is indication that further purification of the plasma is accomplished by curving the guide field thus reducing the neutral component emanating from the gun along its injection axis.