Effects of guard and boom on needle Langmuir probes studied with particle-in-cell simulations

Abstract

We investigate the effects of different guard geometries on the currents to needle-type Langmuir probes. The results are based on particle-in-cell numerical simulations. We show that if the guard length is less than 6–8 Debye lengths there can be a significant effect on the currents to the probe. A guard radius should not be larger than the Debye length, otherwise it can also significantly affect the currents. However, since guard radii are often close to the probe radius, the second condition is usually satisfied.