Doubly charged ions in decaying plasmas in neon and argon

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Abstract
Doubly charged ions were observed during the decay period of plasmas produced in neon as well as in argon at reduced gas pressures ranging from 0.14 to 1 Torr. The measured time dependence of both the Ne2+ ion density and the Ar2+ ion density were corrected for the effect of diffusion cooling of the electrons. The reaction rate constant for the partial charge exchange reaction Ne2++Ne→Ne++Ne+ was found to be k=(9 ± 2) × 10−14 cm3 sec−1. For the reaction rate of the similar reaction in argon, only an upper limit could be obtained. The value of the mobility of Ne2+ in neon was found to be μ(Ne2+)=6 ± 1 cm2/V sec. The value of the mobility of Ar2+ in argon was consistent with previously published data.