ABSTRACT
A schematic diagram of AMT glow discharge is shown in Figure 17.12. In contrast to the case of AT glow discharge, the cathode dark space in AMT glow discharge is kidney shaped, which is typical of negative glow in an anode magnetron DC glow discharge. The CDST in the center region, e1, is less than that at the edge region, e2. In other words, the negative glow is pushed closer to the cathode surface at the center of the focused area. The negative glow is funnel shaped and extends from the center of the anode toward the cathode. The Faraday dark space forms two hemispherical dark spaces in the cross-sectional view. The shape of the glow discharge is similar to that of conventional anode magnetron glow discharge. The funnel-shaped negative glow still exists even when system pressure is very low ( p¼ 10mtorr), at which discharge cannot be created by AT.
