EVOLUTION OF PAIRED LUMINOUS RINGS IN CAPACITIVE RADIOFREQUENCY HYDROGEN DISCHARGES

The temporal and spatial evolution of paired luminous rings is observe d in pulsed capacitive radio-frequency (rf) hydrogen discharges. The t ime-resolved axial profile of the Light intensity indicates that the o utermost ring pairs near the electrodes start to appear earlier than t he inner ones, and that only the left-side (right-side) rings of ring pairs turn on when the rf voltage applied to the left-side (right-side ) electrode is positive. The physical mechanism to create the paired r ings seems to be similar to that of the standing striations in de glow discharges. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.