Multipactor discharge on a dielectric surface: Statistical theory and simulation results

This paper presents a novel theory for describing the initial stage of a single-surface multipactor discharge on a dielectric surface in the presence of a dc electric field, which returns secondary emitted electrons to the surface. The calculations employ a statistical method based on an exact analytical solution for the probability density of the arrival times of the secondary electrons. A general integral equation determining the steady-state distribution of the emission phases of the secondary electrons and the threshold of the multipactor growth is formulated. A computer program has been developed to implement this theory for realistic secondary yield curves and arbitrary, nonuniform, distributions for velocities and angles of emitted electrons. Susceptibility diagrams, applicable to a wide range of materials, are obtained in terms of the rf and dc electric fields and are found to be relatively independent of the emission distribution of the electrons. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.