Contribution of wall material to the vibrational excitation and negative ion formation in hydrogen negative ion sources (invited).

The wall production contribution to the negative hydrogen ion formation in multicusp ion sources has been investigated using the photodetachment diagnostic (for determining the negative ion density and temperature), negative ion and electron extraction, and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) emission spectroscopy. The wall material was modified either by depositing thin films from filaments made of different material or by depositing fresh material of the same filament. Thus we show that a fresh tantalum film leads to enhanced negative ion density and enhanced temperature of the hot negative ion population. The slow poisoning effect due to argon additive also indicates the presence of the wall contribution to H^- formation. The study of the VUV spectra with different wall materials indicates the presence of vibrationally excited states of H₂. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]