Model of microsecond pulsed glow discharge in hollow cathode for mass spectrometry

A new model for microsecond pulsed glow discharge in a hollow cathode and its afterglow is described. The model is based on the Monte-Carlo method together with a new method for electrical field calculation, which is based on some phenomenological laws of plasma behavior. The afterglow model uses continuity and Poisson equations. A qualitative agreement between the model results and results published in experimental and theoretical works is demonstrated. Some processes in the microsecond pulsed discharge in the hollow cathode, such as sputtering, ionization and transfer of sample, are investigated. The model is successfully used for the optimization of the operational parameters of the time-of-flight mass spectrometer with ionization by microsecond pulsed glow discharge in a hollow cathode. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.