Influence of ion current on plasma electron temperature and density determined by probe methods

摘要

It is established that the electron temperature (T _e) of plasma as determined from the slope of the current-voltage (I-U) characteristic or from the second derivative of the probe current (Druyvesteyn method) is overstated. By taking into account the ion current contribution, it is possible to refine the T _e value determined from the slope of the I-U curve. Analysis confirms that the concentration of ions determined from I-U curves for a collisional regime in the near-probe space-charge region is also overstated.