
38 Compact Plasma and Focused Ion Beams
Ion Density (N
+
)
Similar to the electron density, the ion density is obtained using the ion satu-
ration current (Equation 3.5) and electron temperature as
N
eZS
M
I
T
pe
is+
=
−
exp
.
/
12
12
/
k
(3.8)
Space Potential (V
s
) and Floating Potential (V
f
)
The value of the potential of the plasma is important for two main reasons.
First, knowledge of V
s
over a spatial region of interest facilitates the calcula-
tion of the electric elds present. Second, in probe theory, potentials are mea-
sured with respect to V
s
.
V
s
is determined as the point of a boundary between
the electron retardation region and the electron satu ...