Microsecond Transient Currents in the Pulsed Townsend Discharge

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Abstract
The transient current resulting from the release of a very short (0.1 μsec) pulse of photoelectrons at the cathode of a gas-filled tube has been observed experimentally. The current-time patterns agree quantitatively with theory within the limitations of the theory and experimental accuracy. The experiment provides a method for studying fundamental parameters and processes occurring in the noble gases; drift velocities of positive ions and electrons, identification of molecular ions, cross section of formation of molecular ions, and the importance in the Townsend discharge of electron emission at the cathode caused by positive ion neutralization there.