Probe diagnostics of anisotropic electrons distribution function in plasma

This work presents results of approbation of a flat one-sided probe measurements technique in plasma of a low pressure glowing helium discharge. The basics of the method and ways of solving the problems appearing during its experimental application were described. Issues of practical determination of the Legendre components of the distribution function were considered. The possibilities of the method for measuring the complete distribution function and convective velocity of electrons of different energies were illustrated. It was shown that the combined use of the probe method and the kinetic Boltzmann equation allows one to determine experimentally the electron-atomic collisions integral. For the first time, the method of the flat one-sided probe was used to measure the Legendre components of the collisions integral and to reconstruct the energy dependence of the transport cross section of the elastic electron-atomic collision. Experimental data showing a good agreement with the results of a contemporary theory were obtained.