A study has been conducted to determine the electron–ion recombination rates in gas mixtures of helium, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. Measurements were made as functions of electric field strength, gas pressure, and gas composition. In gas mixtures containing only nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the rates were dependent on pressure. This dependence is interpreted as being due to the separate effects of two‐ and three‐body recombination processes. No pressure dependence was observed for mixtures containing helium. In such mixtures, two‐body recombination appears to be dominant. Moreover the addition of relatively low concentrations of helium to the discharge leads to a dramatic change in the bulk recombination rate. Two possible explanations for this observation are suggested.

Electron–ion recombination in gas mixtures of helium, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide

Electrical and optical characteristics of a multichannel N2-laser☆

https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/6486225/Ernst80experimental.pdf

Experimental determination of the electron-avalanche and the electron-ion recombination coefficient

The product of recombination coefficient and instantaneous electron density (γne, was measured for a UV‐preionized discharge operating at atmospheric pressure for a gas mixture containing CO2, N2, and He in the ratio 1:1:8, over a range of operating field (E/N) from 0.5×10−16 V cm2 to 6.0×10−16 V cm2. This data is used in a computer program to simulate the discharge. Good agreement is observed between experimental current and voltage with those predicted by the program. It was also found that the pulse shapes are critically dependent on γne and this must be accurate to be useful in predicting the behavior of UV‐preionized discharges.

Measurement of recombination coefficient in a transverse electric atmospheric CO2 laser gas discharge

The effective recombination coefficient γ* in a self‐sustained CO2 laser discharge at a pressure of 1.3 bar is determined from a rate equation for the electron density using experimental values of the discharge current and voltage. It is found that γ* depends strongly on the electric field strength as well as on the electron density.

Determination of the recombination coefficient in CO2 laser discharges

For a quantitative description of the fast, self-sustained, high-pressure gas discharges used in transversely excited gas lasers the waveforms of current and voltage must be known accurately. An integrated system is described measuring currents and voltages without any interference by using the Faraday and Kerr effects. The sensitivity of the current measurement is 20 mV kA-1. The Kerr cell can be used with different sensitivities within the range 10-150 kV. The rise time of each detector system is 5 ns.

http://iopscience.iop.org/0022-3735/11/3/017/pdf/0022-3735_11_3_017.pdf

W. Bötticher

Papers

Determination of the recombination coefficient in CO2 laser discharges

Electro-optical measurement of current and voltage in fast, high-pressure glow discharges