An Equilibrium in Negative Hydrogen Ion Production Process Related to the Sheet Plasma Experiment

Abstract

In the sheet plasma experiment, plasma potentials decreased but negative hydrogen ion currents increased toward the outside. The negative hydrogen ions are pushed inside by the electric field and are not coming out from the plasma unless an equilibrium exists somehow. A relation between negative hydrogen ion currents and plasma potentials is well explained by the one-dimensional Saha equation, from which the electron temperature 1.3, eV is obtained. This value is very close to the electron temperature 1, eV of the Langmuir method. A reasonable negative hydrogen ion density is also calculated from the equation. We conclude that electrons, hydrogen atoms and negative hydrogen ions are in equilibrium.