Light-induced conductivity, cooling and extinction of a Ne-As hollow-cathode discharge

Within the framework of systematic investigations of the dynamic (time-depe ndent) optogalvanic (DOG) responses in hollow-cathode discharges (HCDs) the effects of the cooling and extinction of a Ne-As HCD were observed. The ex tinction took place at a low discharge current close to the critical one. I n our experiment in this operating mode the DOG response manifested itself as a damped oscillation. The population of Isi levels of the neon atom was measured and the direct ionization rates were calculated The population tra nsfer from the 1s(5) level to 2p(2) or 2p(4) levels was found to decrease t he energy of the gas-discharge plasma.