Electron excitation coefficients for 2p and 3p levels of Xe

Abstract

Electron excitation rate coefficients for 2p (2p1, 2p2, 2p3, 2p4, 2p5, 2p6) and 3p (3p5, 3p6, 3p7, 3p8, 3p10) (in Paschen notation) levels of xenon atom have been measured by using electron drift tube technique. The absolute excitation coefficients were obtained from the optical signal at the anode in Townsend xenon discharges, after correction for detector quantum efficiency. The ionization coefficients were determined from the spatial emission profile. The measurement were made for the electric field to xenon atom number density ratios (E/N) from 90 × 10 −21 Vm 2 to 10 × 10 −18 Vm 2 .

Measurements and analysis of excitation coefficients and secondary electron yields in Townsend dark discharges

“…The apparatus that we use for low current measurements of excitation coefficients has been described in a number of papers [27][28][29]. We use a typical parallel plate drift tube with two electrodes.…”

“…Our group has performed measurements in the non-selfsustained regime in N 2 , N 2 -Ar mixtures [30,31] and in the selfsustained regime in N 2 , H 2 , D 2 and Ar [30,32,33]. Recently, we have extended these experiments to cover a wide range of excited states of rare gases Ne [27], Ar [28], Kr and Xe [29] and dissociative excitation of CH 4 [34]. One example of the raw data for spatial profiles of emission (emission intensity normalized by the current at the anode S a ) is shown in figure 2 where one may observe the transition from electron-induced excitation represented by exponential growth of emission towards the anode, to the heavy-particle-induced excitation represented by almost linear growth of emission towards the cathode at very high E/N [12,13].…”

Monte Carlo studies of non-conservative electron transport in the steady-state Townsend experiment

“…The seminal experiment of Franck and Hertz, as discussed recently by Robson et al [33] and Sigeneger et al [34], was the first to provide evidence of these effects, while Holst-Oosterhuis periodic luminous layers observed in rare gas discharges are also a manifestation of these phenomena [35]. The nonintrusive photon flux experiment of Fletcher [36] and Malović et al [37,38] provides a means of directly observing the periodic structures of electron transport properties common to all the above arrangements, which for present purposes can be classified as variations on the SST experiment. However, in spite of these well-known illustrative examples, the spatial variations and associated relaxation phenomena of the electron transport properties have been difficult to quantify experimentally on a systematic basis because of their dependence on initial and experimental conditions.…”

A Monte Carlo simulation of collisional processes in a Townsend discharge in neon

“…1) (Jelenak et al, 1993;Malovic´et al, 1999Malovic´et al, , 2000. The drift tube had two parallel plane electrodes of 79 mm in diameter separated by 17 mm, placed inside a closely fitting quartz tube.…”