Effects of pressure on the pulsed magnetic confinement linear hollow cathode discharge

Large planar plasma sheets with size of 60 cm60 cm, maximum current of 3 A and duration of 200 s, were obtained in a pulsed linear hollow cathode discharge device under 15 mT magnetic field confinement. The electron density 2-D distribution in the thickness direction and its evolution of plasma sheets with pressures between 90 Pa to 210 Pa were obtained by Langmuir probe using the fast frame function of oscilloscope and the rotating hollow cathode method. The effects of pressure on the time needed to reach the maximum peak density in the thickness direction, the maximum peak density and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) peak density, were investigated. The results show that, as the pressure decreased, the time reaching the maximum peak density in the thickness direction and the FWHM peak density diminished, while the maximum peak density in the thickness direction increased. These results could be utilized to manipulate the parameters of large planar plasma sheets.