Nv. Gavrilov et Se. Romanov, Effect of cathode surface state on the characteristics of pulsed hollow-cathode glow discharges, TECH PHYS, 44(5), 1999, pp. 497-500
A study is made of the effect of pulse repetition rate (0.1-10(3) s(-1)) an
d average discharge current (0-1 A) on the breakdown delay time and burning
voltage of low-pressure glow discharges (p < 0.1 Pa) in an electrode syste
m of the reverse magnetron type with a large cathode surface area (approxim
ate to 10(3) cm(2)). It is shown that increasing the repetition rate leads
to a many-fold reduction in the statistical spread in the delay time and in
the discharge formation time, while the average discharge current has a si
gnificant effect on the burning voltage. The mechanism for the observed phe
nomena is interpreted qualitatively in terms of the presence of thin dielec
tric films on the cathode surface. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics.
[S1063-7842(99)00405-5].