On the constricted neon positive column

The axial electric field strength, electron temperature, and radially averaged electron density in a medium pressure and current, constricted neon plasma column of a direct current glow discharge have been measured by electric methods. The ion loss and production rate coefficients and the loss terms have been calculated and the ratio between recombination loss and diffusion loss evaluated. The steady-state equilibrium between ion production and ion loss shows that, though electron-impact ionization of metastable species is an important ion-production channel, electron-impact ionization via the resonance and higher excited neon levels and associative ionization are also important ion-production channels.