Pulsed probe technique for determining the plasma parameters of a high-current low-pressure diffuse discharge

A new pulsed probe technique for diagnosing a dense gas-discharge plasma is proposed. In the Langmuir probe model, the measurement scheme is calculate d for the expected plasma parameters. The technique is used for studying a high-current quasisteady low-pressure diffuse discharge with a volume great er than 100 cm(3) in the magnetic field. The local parameters (ion density and electron temperature) of the discharge plasma, which is characterized b y the presence of plasma formations with a density of up to 1.5 x 10(15) cm (-3) and electron temperature of 3-8 eV, are determined.