The behavior dynamics of a droplet phase in vacuum arc discharge plasma in chemically active gas nitrogen

The charge distribution of microparticles produced at the cathode surface in the vacuum arc discharge under conditions when the reactive gas nitrogen is present in the discharge gap was studied with an electrostatic analyzer. Small fragments of titanium nitride that form on the surface are heated to electrons thermionic emission temperature in the plasma while they drift to the substrate which causes a positive charge, while the large fragments are cold, that is why they are negatively charged. The titanium microdroplets are mainly positively charged, and they keep this charge for a long period and causes difficulties of filtration in plasma streams.