Abstract: An improved solid expellant plasma generator has been developed. The plasma generator includes a support housing, an electrode rod located in the central portion of the housing, and a mass of solid expellant material that surrounds the electrode rod within the support housing. The electrode rod and the solid expellant material are made of separate materials that are selected so that the electrode and the solid expellant material decompose at the same rate when the plasma generator is ignited. This maintains a point of discharge of the plasma at the interface between the electrode and the solid expellant material.

Abstract: An improved solid expellant plasma generator has been developed. The plasma generator includes a support housing, an electrode rod located in the central portion of the housing, and a mass of solid expellant material that surrounds the electrode rod within the support housing. The electrode rod and the solid expellant material are made of separate materials that are selected so that the electrode and the solid expellant material decompose at the same rate when the plasma generator is ignited. This maintains a point of discharge of the plasma at the interface between the electrode and the solid expellant material.

Abstract: A vacuum chamber (12) within which an instrument (22) to be calibrated or tested is placed, is fitted with an ion gun (14) having an ion source (48). The source (48) has an electron emitting filament (60) positioned adjacent one end of an ionization chamber (71), with a negatively biased grid (72) located behind the filament (60). Gas is injected into the source (48) by a gas flow regulator (54) in one end (52) of the source (48). The chamber (71) is surrounded by a plurality of independently energizable coils (82, 84, 86, 88, 90), with the last coil (90) being operated at the highest current level, thus producing the highest magnetic flux. This presents a region (160) of magnetic repulsion to the electrons produced by the filament (60) and causes them to be confined between the grid (72) and the region (160), greatly increasing the chances that an ionization collision will occur between the electrons and atoms of injected gas.