A high-flux-density hollow cathode plasma source for the studies on plasma surface interactions

•The plasma source provides high ion flux density for H2/He/N2/Ar, with simple structure, high gas and energy efficiency.•The systematic scanning for the performaces of hollow cathode have been studied based on argon discharges. A new type plasma generator based on hollow cathode discharge has been designed and installed on the linear magnetic device, for the researches on helium and hydrogen plasma interaction with plasma facing components. The hollow cathode plasmas for argon/helium/hydrogen discharges were realized. The performances of the hollow cathode source were analyzed based on argon discharges, such as the electron temperature and electron density with respect to radial position, gas flow rate and magnetic field. The plasma parameters have been measured with Langmuir probe on the linear magnetic device. It shown that this hollow cathode source could provide ion flux density up to 1022m−2s−1 with high gas efficiency and energy efficiency. Typically, for argon plasmas, it could reach an electron density of 2×1019m−3 and an electron temperature of 3.5eV in core region, with a power dissipation of 1kW and gas flow rate of 0.25 standard liters per minute. The plasma beam with a radius of 2.5cm was confined very well with a magnetic field around 0.05T. By the virtue of these properties, this plasma generator is a good candidate for the fusion related plasma-surface-interaction researches.