Dynamic analysis of material ejection from cathodic metal nano-tips due to local heating and field generated stress

Date

2018

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

AIP

Abstract

The potential for explosive cathode emission due to nanoprotrusions subjected to Maxwell stress and heating from strong electric fields is probed self-consistently based on non-equilibrium molecular-dynamics. The focus is on determining the electric field magnitudes that could lead to material ejection, assessing dependencies of the instability on the nanoprotrusion height and cross-sectional area, and the role of time-dependent thermal conductivity and local temperature changes. Our results indicate that large aspect ratios would facilitate mass ejection, with protrusion break up occurring over times in the 25 ns range, in agreement with experimental reports on explosive emission.

Description

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Keywords

Thermal Conductivity, Molecular Dynamics, Thermodynamic States and Processes, Statistical Thermodynamics, Electrostatics, Phonons, Surface Collisions, Transition Metals, Composite Materials, Explosives

Citation

X. Qiu and R. P. Joshi, "Dynamic Analysis of Material Ejection from Cathodic Metal Nano-Tips Due to Local Heating and Field Generated Stress," Physics of Plasmas 25, 022109 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5018441

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