Transient processes in plasmas produced by surface waves

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Abstract
The rise time of a wave electric field tau HF and the ionisation front velocity nu f are measured in a pulsed plasma produced by a surface wave. Different behaviours of tau HF and nu f are observed when the pressure is varied. The passage from a collisional to a non-collisional mode may be identified, in accordance with the electronic mean free path estimated for the discharge. The variations of nu f and tau HF with power corroborate this classification. The electron density along the plasma column is also measured for different instants ti from the beginning of the pulse. Thus the discharge stabilisation can be identified by its behaviour in analogy with the stationary plasma.