Self-pulsing of hollow cathode discharge in various gases

Journal Article · Tue Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 2014 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4885640· OSTI ID:22304101

Qin, Y.; Jiang, X. X.; Xie, K. ^[1]

---

1. School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China)

In this paper, we investigate the self-pulsing phenomenon of cavity discharge in a cylindrical hollow cathode in various gases including argon, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, and air. The current-voltage characteristics of the cavity discharge, the waveforms of the self-pulsing current and voltage as well as the repetition frequency were measured. The results show that the pulsing frequency ranges from a few to tens kilohertz and depends on the averaged current and the pressure in all gases. The pulsing frequency will increase with the averaged current and decrease with the pressure. The rising time of the current pulse is nearly constant in a given gas or mixture. The self-pulsing does not depend on the external ballast but is affected significantly by the external capacitor in parallel with the discharge cell. The low-current self-pulsing in hollow cathode discharge is the mode transition between Townsend and glow discharges. It can be described by the charging-discharging process of an equivalent circuit consisting of capacitors and resistors.

• OSTI ID: 22304101
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 21; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
AIR
ARGON
CAPACITORS
CURRENTS
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
EQUIVALENT CIRCUITS
GLOW DISCHARGES
HELIUM
HOLLOW CATHODES
KHZ RANGE
PULSE RISE TIME
PULSES
RESISTORS
WAVE FORMS