Modeling of the negative glow and Faraday dark space of a lowpressure Hg–noble

gas discharge
S. E. Coe and G. G. Lister

Citation: Journal of Applied Physics 71, 4781 (1992); doi: 10.1063/1.350670

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.350670
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 Modeling of the negative glow and Faradaydark space of a low-pressure
Hg-noble-gas discharge
S. E. Coe and G. G. Lister
THORN EMI Central Research Laboratories, Dawley Road, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 IHH,
United Kingdom
(Received 13 August 1991; accepted for publication 4 February 1992)
A model of the negative glow of a low-pressure Hg-Ar discharge is described. The *model
contains a number of important physical processes (in particular noble-gas excitation and
multiple-step ionization) that have not been included in earlier models. The model has also been
coupled to a simple description of the Faraday dark space to enable predictions to be made of
the axial density and potential profiles across the whole negative-glow Faraday dark-space
positive-column region, Results of a number of numerical computations are presented* and in
general these have been found to be in agreement with experimental observations. The effect of
varying the various input parameters to the model on its predictions has also been studied and
the results of this will also be presented.

I. INTRODUCTION
(1)
There has been a considerable effort devoted towards,
the modeling of the positive column of low-pressure Hg-
noble-gas discharges over the last 30 years. In particular
where V, is the voltage drop across the sheath, ji is the ion
virtually all the main lighting companies have published
current density, and mi is the ion mass. This result differs
details of models that predict the performance of the pos-
significantly from the cold cathode case where a Langmuir
itive column in standard fluorescent lamps,‘-4 and the im-
sheath forms and ji and mi are replaced by j, and m, in the
portant physics in this area is now believed to be well
above expression [j, (m,) is the electron current density
understood. However, during this period modeling of the
(mass)]. The voltage drop across the cathode sheath (i.e.,
negative-glow and Faraday-dark-space regions of these dis-
the cathode fall) is typically of the order of the ionization
charges has largely been neglected. Notable exceptions to
potential of the gas and for a typical Hg-noble-gas dis-
this are work presented by Cayless, and more recently by
charge, which produces a sheath thickness of only -0.01
Ingold.” In this paper we will describe a model that we
mm. This is considerably smaller than the collision length,
have developed to predict the behavior of the negative glow
for either electrons or ions and hence the cathode sheath
and the Faraday dark space of a low-pressure fluorescent
may be treated as collisionless. It follows that thermionic
lamp discharge with a thermionic cathode. This model has
electrons emitted from the cathode will be accelerated
similarities to that described by Ingold, but does contain
across the full cathode fall voltage to form a monoenergetic
several important additions. In particular we have allowed
beam of electrons. Before they enter the negative glow, and
for excitation/ionization of the noble gas (which is signif-
a significant number of inelastic collisions can occur, these
icant due to the high energy of electrons emerging from the
electrons will be rapidly randomized in direction (but not
cathode sheath), and multiple-step ionization; both of
energy) by inelastic collisions with the buffer gas atoms.
which we have found to be extremely important for the
To model the negative glow we have divided the elec-
conditions we have considered. For a given tube radius,
trons into two groups: monoenergetic beam electrons from
buffer gas type and pressure, discharge current, and wall
the (collisionless) cathode sheath and plasma electrons
temperature the model is able to predict the axial variation
generated by ionizing collisions within the discharge. The
of the electron density, electric field (and hence plasma
basic physics we have allowed for in the model includes:
potential), electron current, and ion current. As further
(i) excitation and ionization of the mercury and noble-gas
inputs to the model assumptions have to be made about the
atoms by the beam electrons; (ii) two-dimensional (2D)
value of the cathode fall voltage, the ion-to-electron-
ambipolar diffusion of the plasma electrons and ions; and
current ratio at the cathode, and the electron temperature.
(iii) multiple-step ionization of the mercury and noble gas
by the plasma electrons. The model allows for ionization
via four excited-state species of mercury (6 3P0, 6 3Pl,
II. THEORY 6 3P2, and 6 ‘PI levels) and six of argon c3P2, 3P1, 3P0,
‘PI, and two higher combined levels). The relevant energy-
Waymouth has shown that, due to the high electric level diagrams are shown in Fig. 1. The values used for the
field (and associated high ion current) required at the sur- excitation and ionization cross sections of mercury are
face of thermionic cathodes the cathode sheath can essen- based on the compilation of Cayless,s with the exception of
tially be regarded as a single-ion diode. Hence the width of the cross section for the 6 ‘S,-, + 6 ‘PI transition which has
the cathode sheath will be approximately given by7 been taken from the more recent data of Rockwood.’ The

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 (‘) eV (b) eV
Ion

Ion
10.0
Combined Higher
Level State

3p5 4p Combined
State
h1
zEz$j}3P5 4s
%J
FIG. 1. [a) Relevant excited-state
5.0 levels of mercury and (b) relevant
excited-state levels of argon.

06.7 nm

- Ground
0.0
State

inelastic cross sections used for the argon buffer gas have I’&,+ =,u&+n&+E- Dk+VnA,+, (6)
been taken from Vlcek.”
To model the beam electrons we follow a similar ap- where the subscripts e, Hg + ,-and Ar + refer to the plasma
proach to that proposed by Waymouth.” Assuming that electrons, mercury ions, and argon ions, respectively. rj is
the effect of the electric field on the beam electrons is ne- the flux density, nj the density, and Dj the diffusion coeffi-
glected (this is reasonable due to their high energy) then cient of species j. E is the electric field. If we assume that
the following diffusion equation is obtained to describe after undergoing an ionizing collision the beam electrons
their behavior: become ordinary bulk plasma electrons then we have the
following conservation equations for the three charged spe-
V2nb = (VdDb) nb, (2) cies:
where nb is the beam density, Db is the diffusion coefficient
of the beam electrons, and vb is the total excitation and v-r, = (vib _ ~g + vib _ or -5 vb’b) nb + YHgnc + YAr%
ionization rate of the mercury and argon by the beam elec- (7)
trons. Since the beam electrons only penetrate a very short
distance into the discharge (<tube radius) Eq. (2) can be v*rHg + = vib - Hgnb + ‘YH&, (8)
reduced to 1D (axial direction) giving rise to the following
solution: V’rA, f = vib - A& + yA& (9)

nb(d = (rfda@bhp( - q&h (3) where YHs (vib _ Hg) and “/Ar (vib _ k) are the total ioniza-
where o& = (VdDb) 1’2 and lYM)is the initial flux of beam tion rates by the plasma (beam) electrons of the mercury
electrons at the cathode-sheath-negative-glow boundary and argon, respectively. If we assume local charge neutral-
(z = 0). For typical fluorescent lamp conditions of an ar- ity (i.e., n, = n&+ -I- nHs+ > and that the mercury and ar-
gon buffer gas with a pressure of 3 Torr, a wall temperature gon ions have the same temperature (i.e., DAr+/pAr+
= &s+//~Hs+ = 0,), thencombining Eqs. (4)-(9) gives
of 40 “C, and a cathode fall of 15 V, then c$ = 3500
m - *. This gives an exponential decay length of only 300
pm and therefore the beam electrons only penetrate a very
short distance into the discharge.
To describe the plasma electrons we first consider the
flux densities of the two ion species and the electrons which - nb vb+v&-.&fvib-HHg
=-
can be written in the following form: et? + 0, A

S, = - per.@ - D,Vn, (4)

+ -+----- (10)
r&8 f =pHginHg+E - DHg+VnHg+, (5)

4782 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 10, 15 May 1992 S. E. Coe and G. G. Lister 4782
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 where ~9,(13,) is the gas (electron) temperature (in eV). In
order to simplify the solution of Eq. (10) in the model we
have assumed a Schottky radial profile for the plasma elec-
trons, i.e.,
n,(r) --J0(2.405r/Rw), (11)
where Jo is a zeroth-order Bessel function and Rw is the
tube radius. This approximation will be valid along most of
the length of the negative glow, although it will break
down close to a real cathode where the problem essentially
becomes three dimensional. To solve Eq. ( 10) the plasma
electron ionization rates yAr(z) and yna(z) have to be de-
termined as a function of axial position. These two param-
eters are evaluated by calculating multiple-step ionization
rates via the excited-state levels shown in Fig. 1. The con-
tribution of both the beam and plasma electrons to the
excitation rates of these states have been included in the
model. For simplicity we have at present neglected diffu-
sion of the excited states and have used estimates of the
effective lifetimes of the resonance radiative transitions
based on the treatment of Holstein12 for an infinitely long
cylindrical geometry. Simultaneous numerical solution of
Eq. (10) and calculation of y&(z) and yna(z) enables the
axial plasma electron density profile to be calculated. From
this it is possible to determine the axial variation of the
electron and ion currents as well as the electric field by
application of Eqs. (4)-(6).
In the model the following boundary conditions have
been applied at the cathode-sheath/negative-glow inter-
face.
(i) The electric field at the edge of the cathode sheath
is assumed to be sufficiently large to balance the diffusion
of plasma electrons to the cathode and ensure that the
overall tlux is zero, i.e.,
P,(O) = 0.0. (12)
(ii) The fluxes of the ion species towards the cathode
are determined by their respective Bohm velocities, i.e.,
r,+ (0) = - nHg(O) (13)
l?,+(O) = -n,(0)(e(e;;eJ)1’2, (14)
where inna (m&) is the mass of a mercury (argon) ion.
(iii) The ratio of the electron to total ion current is
fixed by a parameter p which is treated as an input to the
model. This gives
[rHp+ (0) + l-k+ co>1
p= - (15)
Experimental measurements by Waymouth suggest that p
typically has a value in the range 0.1-0.2 for a thermionic
cathode.
These boundary conditions are essentially the same as
those used by Ingold, except that we have also fixed a
restraint on the initial value of the ion-to-electron-current
ratio at the cathode [see Eq. ( 15)]. This additional bound-
0
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the article. May 1992
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141.212.109.170 On: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 21:18:25
ary condition effectively replaces the assumption in In-
gold’s model that the plasma electron density tends to zero
at large distances from the cathode.
If the density of argon ions is assumed to be small
compared to the mercury ion density then we obtain the
following expressions for the electron density and density
gradient at the cathode-sheath-negative-glow boundary:
BJ
n,(O) = - l/Z, (16)
e( 1 + fl> [e(% + eg)hHgl
P,BJ
Vn,(z = 0) = - (17)
41 +PPeiuHg+*
Aside from the basic parameters defining the discharge
(i.e., buffer gas type and pressure, wall temperature, tube
radius, and operating current) the main input parameters
to the model are the voltage drop across the cathode sheath
(i.e., beam energy) and the ratio of the ion to electron
current at the cathode (i.e., p). In reality the values of
these last two parameters will not be independent of each
other, but will both be complicated functions of the species
present in the discharge and in particular on the type of
cathode. To determine these two parameters (and the re-
lation between them) would require a complete model of
the cathode including its interaction with the surrounding
discharge. Since we do not have such a model at the
present time we have been forced to treat these as two
separate inputs parameters to the code and estimate sensi-
ble values for them.
To model the Faraday dark space we have assumed
that the ionization rate in this region is zero. For this to be
a good approximation the electron temperature need only
be about 20% lower than in the negative glow. Such a
minor change in the temperature makes only a small dif-
ference in the values calculated for the various mobilities
and diffusion coefficients. Therefore the same values as
those calculated in the negative glow can be assumed for
these parameters. We also assume that the beam electron
density has become negligible by the time the Faraday dark
space is reached. Hence setting yAr, j+.& and nj, to zero
reduces Eq. (10) to
V2n, = 0. (18)
Separating variables gives the following expression for the
axial density profile in the Faraday dark space:
n,(z) = npc cosh(2.405z/Rw), (19)
where npc is the axial electron density in the positive col-
umn and the Faraday dark-space/positive-column inter-
face has been defined as the origin (i.e., z = 0). To obtain
Eq. (19) we have assumed that the density at the Faraday
dark-space/positive-column interface must be continuous
and also that the density gradient at this position is zero.
The positive column density npo is estimated by using an
independent positive-column model, the essential features
of which are described by Cayless.’
To match the independently obtained solutions for the
negative glow and Faraday dark space together we define
the interface between these two regions as the position at
S. E. Coe and G. G. ListerDownloaded
4783 to ] IP:
 Negative i Faraday ! Positive
Glow Dark j Column
Space
i Bulk Electrons
i Beam Electrons
i (X200)
n .ozo--
“0 I 2 3 4 5 Distance (cm)
Distance (cm)
FIG. 2. Predicted beam and bulk electron density profile for an Hg-Ar
discharge (wall temperature = 42% buffer gas pressure = 0.9 Torr, tube
radius = 18 mm, and current = 180 mA) .
which both n, and dnddz are continuous if the separate
solutions are joined together. Differentiating E?q. ( 18) gives
the following relation between the density and density gra-
dient in the Faraday dark space:
dn,
-=
2.405
- z (n3 - n&) 1’2.
dz
Hence the position of the negative-glow-Faraday dark-
space interface is defined as the point at which the density
gradient in the negative glow has reduced to the value
given by Eq. (20).
III. RESULTS
Figure-2 shows the axial variation of both the beam
and plasma electron density predicted by the model for a
typical Hg-Ar discharge (wall temperature = 42 “C!, buffer
gas pressure = 0.9 Torr, tube radius = 18 mm, and current
= 180 mA). The negative-glow, Faraday dark-space, and
positive-column regions of the calculation have been iden-
tified on the graph. A value of p = 0.1 has been used for
the ion-to-electron-flux ratio at the cathode (based on the
measurements of Waymouth’). A cathode fall of 14 V and
an electron temperature of 12 000 K have been assumed. It
is interesting to note that the beam electrons only penetrate
a very short distance into the discharge (typically only a
few mm). The main loss mechanism of the beam electrons
is inelastic collisions with argon (due to the high argon
ground-state density) and it is this that largely controls
their penetration depth into the negative glow. Although
the beam electrons are the main cause of excitation/
ionization at the start of the negative glow (due to their
high energies) over the remaining length (i.e., majority) of
the negative glow the excitation and ionization processes
are dominated by the plasma electrons. As in the positive
column multiple-step ionization is the dominant ionization
mechanism under these circumstances. The model’s overall
predictions have been found to depend sensitively on the
calculated plasma ionization rate and hence we have found
that it is essential to accurately estimate the full multiple-
step ionization rate by the plasma electrons. Failure to do
this can result in unrealistic solutions from the model. Ar-
4784 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 10, 15 May 1992
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Experiment
*
--1 2 3 4 5 -._I6
FIG. 3. Comparison between predicted and measured variation of plasma
potential with distance (same conditions as for Fig. 2).
gon excitation/ionization is only significant at the start of
the negative glow where the beam density is still large,
since the bulk plasma electrons are not sufficiently ener-
getic to cause any substantial argon excitation. It is impor-
tant to note that at all points in the discharge the bulk
plasma electron density is always substantially higher than
the beam electron density.
(20) (It can be seen from Fig. 2 that the predicted length of
the negative glow is about 2 cm and this is consistent with
visual observations of this type of discharge. The density
ratio between the negative glow and positive column is
predicted to be 14, which is comparable to that measured
experimentally by Wamsley et aZ.i3 and Gibbi4 for similar
Hg-Ar discharges. )
Figure 3 shows the predicted variation of the plasma
potential across the discharge for the same conditions.
Also shown are the results of Langmuir probe measure-
ments made at GE-THORN Lamps for these discharge
conditions.‘5 These experimental measurements are strictly
of the floating potential and not the plasma potential as
predicted by the code. However in regions of constant elec-
tron temperature the difference between the floating poten-
tial and the true plasma potential will be a constant. Al-
though it is likely that the electron temperature will vary to
some extent in the negative-glow/Faraday-dark-space re-
gion, these floating potential measurements can still be
used as a rough estimate of the spatial variation of the
plasma potential. It can be seen that there is a remarkably
E=135eV
_--__-
E=14eV
2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Distance (tin)
FIG. 4. Effect of varying beam energy on plasma electron density profiles
(otherwise conditions the same as for Fig. 2).
P
S. E. Coe and G. G. Lister 4784
 E=13.5eV E-20&

I t I
1 .o 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 0.0 I .o 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Distance (cm) Distance (cm)

FIG. 5. Effect of varying beam energy on plasma potential profiles (oth-

erwise conditions the same as for Fig. 2). FIG. 6. Effect of varying r/r, on plasma electron density profiles (oth-
erwise conditions the same as for Fig. 2).

good agreement between the theoretical predictions and penetration into the negative glow and consequently con-
the experimental measurements; in particular in terms of centrate the beam excitation/ionization into a smaller vol-
the length of the negative glow and Faraday dark space ume next to the cathode. The result of this is that the beam
and also the magnitude of the voltage drop between the excitation/ionization has a more marked effect on the
negative glow and Faraday dark space. plasma electron density profile at lower beam energies
It is important to appreciate the effect of varying the where the beam electrons penetrate further into the dis-
different input parameters to the model on its final predic- charge.
tions. Hence we have performed studies of the effects of It can be seen from Eq. (1.7) that the main result of
varying the values assumed for r/I’,, the beam energy, increasing IY,/l?, is to increase the initial electron density
and the electron temperature on the predicted density and gradient. This results in substantially higher peak electron
potential profiles. Figures 4 and 5 show the effect of vary- densities, as shown in Fig. 6 where increasing Ii/l?, from
ing the energy of the beam electrons on the density and 0.075 to 0.15 increases the peak electron density by a factor
potential profiles, respectively. Also shown for comparison of approximately 7, Increasing r/l?, also has a tendency
is the case when there is no beam. It can be seen in Fig. 4 to increase the length of the negative glow/Faraday dark
that the presence of the beam electrons serves to reduce the space. The increased density ratio between the negative
length of the negative glow and also to decrease its peak glow and positive column, caused by increasing Ii/r, re-
density. This behavior is a consequence of the necessity to sults in a larger potential drop between the negative glow
balance the rate of generation of electrons by ionization and Faraday dark space as shown in Fig. 7. The explana-
with the rate of loss by diffusion at each position in the tion for this is again due to the increased density gradient
discharge. This means that the additional ionization pro- between the negative glow and Faraday dark space causing
duced by the beam electrons causes a more rapidly chang- an increased retarding (for the electrons) ambipolar field
ing density gradient (to increase the diffusion loss) at each and hence a larger potential drop between the negative
point in the discharge. This effect can directly be seen to be glow and Faraday dark space. However it is worth noting
a consequence of Eq. ( 10). In Fig. 5 it can be seen that the that a sevenfold increase in density results in only a factor
reduction in the peak electron density caused by the beam of 2 increase in this potential difference. This has important
electrons results in a reduced potential drop between the
negative glow and Faraday dark space. This is a conse-
quence of the reduced retarding ambipolar electric field 3.0
generated by the shallower density gradient between the
negative glow and Faraday dark space. It is interesting to
note that as the beam energy increases the peak plasma 2.0
3
density increases. This is an apparent contradiction of the r
zt
above explanation since a higher beam energy should result 3 1.0
in a higher ionization rate. However the actual flux of E
3
beam electrons into the negative glow is fixed by the I?
boundary conditions and is independent of the beam en- 0.0
ergy. Since each beam electron only has one ionization/
excitation collision the total rate of excitation/ionization in
the negative glow by the beam electrons will be unchanged 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
with varying beam energy (provided the beam energy is Distance (cm)
greater than about 12 eV>. Increasing the energy of the FIG. 7. Effect of varying r/r, on plasma potential profiles (otherwise
beam electrons will, however, reduce the depth of their conditions the same as for Fig. 2).

4785
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is copyrighted Vol. 71, in
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 The model is able to predict the axial density and plasma
potential profiles across the whole negative-glow Faraday-
dark-space positive-column region of the discharge. Initial
results suggest that the model predictions are in good
agreement with experimental observations. We have found
that noble-gas excitation and multiple-step ionization,
which were not included in a similar model recently pre-
sented by Ingold, are very important under the conditions
we have studied (i.e., an argon buffer gas).
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 Other processes that have not been included in the
Distance (cm) present model but which could contribute to the total ion-
ization rate include associative and Penning ionization. In
FIG. 8. Effect of varying electron temperature on plasma electron density the positive column of fluorescent lamps associative ioniza-
profiles (otherwise conditions the same as for Fig. 2). tion has been found to make a significant, but not domi-
nant, contribution to the total plasma ionization rate.2”3
consequences for diagnostic measurements, since it sug- However, in the negative glow it can be expected to play a
gests that measurements of the electron density will be much leas significant role, since the higher electron density
more sensitive to the details of the discharge than will in this region will result in the relative value of the multiple
measurements of the plasma potential. step plasma ionization rate being much higher since it ap-
Finally, in Figs. 8 and 9 the effect of varying the elec- proximately scales as ~2. Hence we believe it is reasonable
tron temperature on the predicted density and potential to neglect associative processes in the current model. Pen-
profiles is shown. It can be seen that the main consequence ning ionization may well be significant in the negative
of increasing the value of the electron temperature is to glow, although only in a small region close to the cathode
reduce the length of the negative glow. This is because where the argon excited-state densities are high due to the
increasing the electr& temperature increases the bulk beam electrons. However, although the inclusion of this
plasma ionization rates, which in turn result in a more effect will probably result in quantitative changes in the
rapidly changing density gradient [see Eq. (lo)] and hence model’s predictions close to the cathode, it will not change
a shorter negative’ glow. It can be seen that varying the the overall qualitative nature of the model’s predictions.
electron temperature can result in significant variations in Nevertheless we believe careful thought needs to be given
the model’s predictions. Hence it is important to give care- to the importance of Penning ionization in any future de-
ful consideration to the value estimated for the electron velopment of this work. As a final point regarding the
temperature in any model calculation. Ideally a power bal- determination of the total ionization rate it is worth noting
ance should be performed by the code so that the electron that at present the model determines the plasma ionization
temperature is self-consistently calculated within the rates using a Maxwellian EEDF (electron energy distribu-
model. Preferably axial variations in the electron temper- tion function). The justification for this being that it is not
ature should also be alrowed for. clear to what extent the depletion of the high-energy tail of
the EEDF observed in the positive column is countered for
IV. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS in the negative glow by the addition to the plasma electrons
A model has been developed that, making certain as- of former beam electrons which have undergone an inelas-
sumptions, describes the behavior of the negative glow and tic collision but may still have a significant remaining en-
Faraday dark space of a low-pressure Hg-A.r discharge. ergy of several eV. Initial measurementsI of the EEDF in
the negative glow under conditions similar to those studied
here have not shown any noticeable depletion of the high-
3.0 energy tail of the distribution function. Hence, in the ab-
2.5 sence of any firm evidence as to the correct form of the
EEDF in this region of the discharge, we believe that there
2 2.0
is little to be gained on basing the calculation of excitation/
e 1.5 ionization rates on anything more sophisticated than a
5 standard Maxwellian.
g 1.0
The cathode fall voltage and the ratio of the ion to
if 0.5 electron currents at the cathode are treated as input pa-
0.0 rameters to the model for which sensible values have to be
-0.5 ’ I
estimated. The main effect of increasing the estimated ion-
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 to-electron-current ratio at the cathode has been found to
Distance (cm) be a substantial increase in the peak electron density pre-
dicted by the model in the negative glow. Increasing the
FIG. 9. Effect of varying electron temperature on plasma potential pro- value estimated for the cathode fall voltage also tends to
files (otherwise conditions the same as for Fig. 2). increase the predicted peak electron density but to a much

4786 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 10, 15 May 1992 S. E. Coe and G. G. Lister 4786
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 lesser extent. The effect of varying both parameters on the
predicted length of the negative glow is much less notice-
able. Ideally the values of these two parameters (which in
reality are interrelated) would be provided by a separate
model of the cathode and its interaction with the surround-
ing discharge. Unfortunately we do not have such a model
and are not aware of one having been developed elsewhere.
This would, however, be an extremely interesting avenue
for future research.
In the model’s present form an estimated value has to
be assigned to the electron temperature used during calcu-
lations. The main effect of increasing the electron temper-
ature used being to reduce the predicted length of the neg-
ative glow/Faraday dark. space. Ideally the electron
temperature should be self-consistently determined by the
model using a power balance calculation. It would also be
desirable to allow for spatial variations in the electron tem-
perature between the negative glow and Faraday dark
space. Including a spatially varying, self-consistently cal-
culated electron temperature is probably the most signifi-
cant improvement that can be made to the model.
Finally, an important point arising from these calcula-
tions is that the electron density provides a considerably
more sensitive guide to the details of the discharge than
does the plasma potential. Hence experimental diagnostics
measurements of the electron density will in general be of
more value than plasma potential measurements. I (private communication).
4787 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 10, 15 May 1992
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge financial sup-
port from GE-THORN Lamps for this work and to thank
D. 0. Wharmby, D. A. J. Mottram, and A. J. Tambini for
many helpful discussions and for supplying us with exper-
imental floating potential measurements. We would also
like to thank I. G. Gibb for supplying us with the results of
Langmuir probe measurements and J. F. Waymouth for
helpful comments regarding this work.
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“A. J. Tambini, GE-THORN Lamps, Melton Road, L&ester, U.K.
S. E. Coe and G. G. Lister 4787