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Diffuse vacuum arc application requires the cathode conditions for stable operation in the diffuse mode to be determined. In this work, such conditions are established for a heated chromium cathode. At a discharge current of 30–40 A, the diffuse mode is sustained within a limited range of cathode temperatures of 1.8–2.0 kK. Outside this range, the discharge becomes non-stationary. Statistical analysis of cathode spot motion in these non-stationary modes reveals random displacements in the presence of an axial magnetic field of 10 mT. The diffusion coefficient of cathode spot motion is determined to be 0.7–3.3 cm2/s, which is consistent with values reported for vacuum arcs on cold cathodes.
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Paramonov et al. (2026) studied this question.
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