Experiments are described in which spark discharges in long non-uniform gap
s are studied in Ar with a small addition (1-5%) of O-2 under standard cond
itions. The results obtained show that even the addition of 1% O-2 drastica
lly reduces the conductivity of the streamer channel and increases the aver
age electric field required to bridge the discharge gap by a streamer. Brea
kdown, producing short circuiting, is developed through leader propagation
in Ar:O-2 mixtures, in contrast to a non-thermal streamer mechanism of brea
kdown that was previously observed in pure Ar. A 1.5-dimensional simulation
was carried out which supports the general observed properties of streamer
s in long gaps in Ar:O-2. An analysis of the simulation results shows that
the effect of small O-2 additions on the streamer properties in Ar is expla
ined by the quenching of excited Ar atoms by O-2 molecules, which leads to
the deceleration of two-step ionization in the streamer channel.