SIMPLIFIED CALCULATION OF THE AVERAGE ENERGY AND DRIFT VELOCITY OF ELECTRONS OF THE DISCHARGE PLASMA IN GAS-MIXTURES USED IN CO2-LASERS

A method is suggested for calculating the average energy and the drift velocity of electrons in a low-temperature plasma as functions of the E/N parameter for the CO2/N-2/He gas mixtures. The average energy and the drift velocity are calculated within several percent, based on th e known data for other gas mixtures of similar compositions without di rectly solving the kinetic equation. The parameters that describe the combined effect of collisions of all types, namely, the average cross sections, and the fraction of energy loss are calculated for the CO2, N-2, and He gases.