Vaporization of carbon from Cu-WC contact during arc discharge in vacuum

To identify the components emitted from tungsten carbide (WC) base contact during arc discharge in vacuum, spectroscopic measurements were performed for vacuum arc discharges between Cu, W, C, WC, and Cu-WC contacts. As a result, spectra of C and W which have extremely low vapor pressures were obser...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIEEE transactions on plasma science Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 915 - 922
Main Authors Yamamoto, A., Kusano, T., Seki, T., Okutomi, T.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York IEEE 01.08.1999
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subjects
Arc discharges
Arm
Augers
Carbon
Carbon dioxide
Cathodes
Contact
Copper
Optical wavelength conversion
Physics
Plasma measurements
Spectrometers
Spectroscopy
Surface discharges
Vacuum arcs
Vapor pressure
Vaporization
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Summary:To identify the components emitted from tungsten carbide (WC) base contact during arc discharge in vacuum, spectroscopic measurements were performed for vacuum arc discharges between Cu, W, C, WC, and Cu-WC contacts. As a result, spectra of C and W which have extremely low vapor pressures were observed as well as that of Cu. To obtain the conclusive evidence of the vaporization of C, W, and Cu, the deposits on the contact holders were also investigated by means of surface analysis methods such as Auger electron spectrometer and X-ray photo-electron spectrometer. The mechanism of simultaneous vaporization of those components with different vapor pressures was discussed by means of thermal analysis. It shows that the superheating of WC at the contact surface could cause the vaporization of carbon.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0093-3813
1939-9375
DOI:10.1109/27.782260