Ion energy distributions in a pulsed, electron beam-generated plasma

In this work, we investigate the ion flux at a grounded electrode located adjacent to a pulsed, argon plasma generated by a high-energy electron beam. The plasmas, produced in 100 mTorr, are characterized by high plasma densities (> 10(11) cm(-3)) and low electron temperatures (< 1.5 eV). An energy selective mass spectrometer was used to measure temporally resolved ion kinetic-energy distributions at the electrode surface. In addition, ion energy distributions are presented for various electrode locations. The ion energy distributions correlate well with Langmuir probe measurements of the plasma potential. (C) 2001 American Vacuum Society.