Specific features of the current-voltage characteristics of diffuse glow discharges in Ar:N{sub 2} mixtures
- Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Fusion Research (Russian Federation)
- St. Petersburg State University (Russian Federation)
The characteristics of diffuse glow discharges in pure argon and the Ar + 1%N{sub 2} mixture at pressures of 2-80 Torr were studied experimentally and numerically. The discharge operated in a molybdenumglass tube with an inner diameter of 2.8 cm and interelectrode distance of 75 cm. The current-voltage characteristic of the discharge and the populations of the N{sub 2}(B{sup 3{Gamma}}{sub g}) and N{sub 2}(C{sup 3{Gamma}}{sub u}) states were measured. It is shown that, at relatively low pressures (P < 10 Torr), the current-voltage characteristic of a discharge in the argon-nitrogen mixture lies higher than that in pure argon. In contrast, at higher pressures (P > 15 Torr), the current-voltage characteristic of a discharge in the mixture lies lower than that in pure argon. As the pressure increases, the effect of the reduction in the discharge voltage becomes more pronounced. A self-consistent zero-dimensional kinetic model is developed that allows one to calculate the characteristics of the positive column of a discharge in pure argon and Ar:N{sub 2} mixtures under the conditions of high vibrational excitation of nitrogen. A detailed description of the model is presented, and the calculated results are compared with experimental data. The model adequately reproduces the observed change in the current-voltage characteristic in Ar and the Ar + 1%N{sub 2} mixture with increasing gas pressure. It is shown that the main ionization mechanism in the Ar + 1%N{sub 2} mixture at moderate pressures is the associative ionization of excited nitrogen atoms.
- OSTI ID:
- 21443356
- Journal Information:
- Plasma Physics Reports, Vol. 36, Issue 12; Other Information: DOI: 10.1134/S1063780X10120056; Copyright (c) 2010 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.; ISSN 1063-780X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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