Apokamp discharge: conditions and mechanisms of formation

Experimental and theoretical study of new form of pulse-periodic discharge in apokamp mode were carried out. It has been found that apokamp discharge constitute the narrow streamer channel, starting up from the bending point of plasma channel with a characteristic speed of tens and hundreds of km/s depending on the applied voltage, pressure and gas mixture. The requisite conditions for apokamp growth are under relatively weak macroscopic electric field. The channel bend provides local field amplification, which sets the starting orientation of the nascent streamer channel. The frequency-pulse mode of the discharge power supply reproduces the streamer channel in each pulse, but the preceding framework of the ion-ion plasma ensures the channel form reproduction from pulse to pulse.

Keywords

Authors

References