Probe diagnostics of the angular structure of the electron distribution function in anisotropic plasma
- 1 — G.V. Plekhanov Saint Petersburg Mining Institute
- 2 — G.V. Plekhanov Saint Petersburg Mining Institute
- 3 — G.V. Plekhanov Saint Petersburg Mining Institute
Abstract
A method for recovering the full electron velocity distribution function and its angular components in a plasma with an arbitrary degree of anisotropy has been developed. The method is based on the measurement of the second derivative of the probe current with respect to the potential for different orientations of a flat one-sided probe with respect to the plasma symmetry axis. The optimal angles of the probe orientation are determined and the number of probe orientations necessary to recover the angular components of the electron velocity distribution of a given rank is estimated. The operability of the proposed method for determining the electron velocity distribution in a plasma with an arbitrary degree of anisotropy is demonstrated in a model experiment.