SELF-ORGANIZATION OF A LAMINAR STRUCTURE OF A NORMAL GLOW DISCHARGE

The behavior of a glow discharge at low pressures is considered. A combined experimental and theoretical method for determining the distributions of electron and ion concentrations in the discharge chamber is proposed. It is shown that the concentrations of charged particles in the negative glow rise not due to the intense ionization by fast electrons from the cathode regions, but instead due to the slowing down of their drift motion. The use of an experimental curve of the potential distribution along a discharge chamber and account of the nonlocal dependence of the Townsend coeffi cient on the electric fi eld strength have allowed obtaining the distribution of the electric fi eld strength and determining the exact character of variation in the concentration of charged particles along the discharge axis.
   
Author:  B. A. Timerkaev, O. A. Petrova, and A. I. Saifutdinov
Keywords:  glow discharge, cathode, electrode regions, positive column, Faraday dark space
Page:  493