In a magnetized plasma column generated from an electronegative gas, negative-ions accumulate around the plasma column via radial diffusion. In this study, a dc discharge is applied in SF6 gas to produce a plasma column, and the radial density profile of negative-ions is measured by Langmuir probes using the modified Bohm criterion. The gas pressure and discharge current dependences of negative-ion density are also measured. It is found that the negative-ion density of 8.0 × 1017 m-3 is obtained around the plasma column at r = 1.0 cm when SF6 pressure is 0.13 Pa and discharge current is 0.50 A. The negative-ion density has radial gradient, and the electron density is much lower in this region.
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