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Cylindrical Langmuir probes beyond the orbital-motion-limited regime
The current I to a cylindrical probe at rest in an unmagnetized plasma, with probe bias highly positive, is determined. The way I lags behind the orbital-motion-limited (OML) current, I OML ∝R, as the radius R exceeds the maximum radius for the OML regime to hold, is of interest for space-tether app...
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| Published in: | Physics of plasmas 2000-10, Vol.7 (10), p.4320-4325 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | The current I to a cylindrical probe at rest in an unmagnetized plasma, with probe bias highly positive, is determined. The way I lags behind the orbital-motion-limited (OML) current,
I
OML
∝R,
as the radius R exceeds the maximum radius for the OML regime to hold, is of interest for space-tether applications. The ratio
I/I
OML
is roughly a decreasing function of
R/λ
De
−R
max
/λ
De
,
which is independent of bias, with
λ
De
the electron Debye length and
R
max
/λ
De
roughly an increasing function of the temperature ratio,
T
i
/T
e
.
The dependence of current on ion energy is used to discuss the effect of probe motion through the plasma, a case applying to tethers in low orbit. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1070-664X 1089-7674 |
| DOI: | 10.1063/1.1288400 |