Wall charge evolution in discharge tubes

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Abstract
The time evolution of wall charges is treated for a cylindrical discharge tube of radius a, length 2L, and surface resistivity η. Two geometries for the applied field are treated: a field produced by point charges (±Q) at opposite ends of the tube and a uniform transverse field. Both geometries are of use in treating the interactions of discharge tubes in gas discharge display panels. The first field configuration gives rise to wall charge fields which decay with a time scale determined by Lε0η and the wall charges enhance the field strength at the tube center by a factor proportional to (L/a)2 : for transverse fields the corresponding decay time varies as aε0 η. It is pointed out that because of the long decay times, wall charge fields can strongly affect the repetitive switching properties for discharge tubes in gas discharge display panels, even when the repetition rates are only a few kilohertz. The adverse effects of transverse-applied fields can be eliminated by avoiding simultaneous switching of neighboring tubes.

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