AN INVESTIGATION OF THE TEMPORAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PSEUDOSPARK DISCHARGE

A study of the different discharge phases of the pseudospark discharge is presented. During the temporal development several modes of the ps eudospark discharge are observed leading to a transient, high current, low pressure gas discharge with current densities of the order of 10( 4) A/cm(2) and a forward voltage drop of about 10(2) volts. Therefore measurements of the discharge current, the total charge transported, t he forward voltage drop and the influence of the gas pressure and LRC circuit, from initial phase of discharge until the transient phase to the superdense glow, are reported. Through comparison of experimental results with literature the different types of discharges are characte rized. Optical studies of the radially expanding plasma column enable the temporal and spatial location of the discharge plasma. In the high current phase estimations of the temperature on the cathode surface a nd the solution of the Schottky-Equation show that a constriction of t he ion current at microscopic surface irregularities is necessary to s ustain the discharge.