Application of a double insulated probe for the investigation of charged-particle beams in plasmas

It is shown that the existence of a current in the external circuit of a double insulated probe without electrical bias between its electrodes is evidence of the presence of a stream (beam) of charged particles in a plasma. The species of particles forming a beam in a plasma, the direction and divergence of the beam, and information on the distribution of the current density over the beam cross section in the plasma can be obtained by determining the direction and strength of the current in the external circuit of the probe as it is positioned at various sites in the investigated system. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7842(98)021102].