Application of low‐temperature ions in the nonequilibrium state plasma of a Penning source

We present the high‐output properties during the early 100–200 μs of a pulsed Penning source. The peak intensity, I, is higher than that of a dc source by a factor of more than 10. This phenomenon is due to the long confinement time of ions, τ, at the rising of the plasma, since within such a short time the ion temperature, T, does not reach thermal equilibrium and is still low. These characteristics are expressed as I∝τ∝T−1/2. The ratio of T−1/2 before and after equilibrium has a maximum of 1/18.