Non-self-sustained discharge in nitrogen with a condensed dispersed phase

A non-self-sustained discharge in nitrogen with a condensed dispersed phase is studied experimentally for the first time under atmospheric pressure at room temperature. It is shown that macroparticles strongly affect the current-voltage characteristics as well as the stability of the discharge process. A numerical simulation of dust particle charging in nitrogen is carried out at room temperature and cryogenic temperatures under continuous medium conditions. It is shown that a considerable charge is accumulated at macroparticles in the nitrogen beam plasma. As the gas temperature decreases, the charge of macroparticles in nitrogen increases, while in argon their charge decreases. For this reason, the Coulomb interaction parameter for dust particles in nitrogen increases strongly upon a transition from room to cryogenic temperature, while in argon this parameter decreases. It is also shown that the characteristic time of dust particle charging is shorter than 1 μs for a beam current density of 90 μA/cm 2 , while the neutralization of the charge takes milliseconds. Possible mechanisms of the influence of the dust component on the characteristics of non-self-sustained discharge are considered.