Optogalvanic measurements of gas temperature in the cathode fall

Abstract
Optogalvanic diagnostics are used to determine the electric field and the absolute gas temperature as a function of position in the cathode fall of an abnormal glow discharge. Gas temperatures in the cathode fall at modest current densities are as much as a factor of 2 above ambient temperatures. Symmetric charge exchange of energetic positive ions produces fast neutrals which efficiently heat gas in the cathode fall. This hot, rarefied gas has important implications in modeling the cathode fall, sputtering processes at the cathode, the glow-to-arc transition, and other phenomena.

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