EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF DC GLOW-DISCHARGES IN ARGON NITROGEN MIXTURES

Ar-N2 mixture positive columns of direct current glow discharges are e xperimentally and theoretically investigated. The electron energy dist ribution function of the column, which has a great deviation from the Maxwellian, is affected by the amount of N2. The N2 and Ar metastable species densities estimated from the rate equations are inversely prop ortional to N2 content. There is a large discrepancy between experimen tal and theoretical electron energy distribution functions, especially for N2 positive columns. The value of pR obtained experimentally is p redicted from the measured electron energy distribution function, wher e p is the gas pressure and R the tube radius.