Positive column of a glow discharge in neon with charged dust grains (a review)

Abstract

The effect of charged micron-size dust grains (microparticles) on the electric parameters of the positive column of a low-pressure dc glow discharge in neon has been studied experimentally and numerically. Numerical analysis is carried out in the diffusion-drift approximation with allowance for the interaction of dust grains with metastable neon atoms. In a discharge with a dust grain cloud, the longitudinal electric field increases. As the number density of dust grains in an axisymmetric cylindrical dust cloud rises, the growth of the electric field saturates. It is shown that the contribution of metastable atoms to ionization is higher in a discharge with dust grains, in spite of the quenching of metastable atoms on dust grains. The processes of charging of dust grains and the dust cloud are considered. As the number density of dust grains rises, their charge decreases, while the space charge of the dust cloud increases. The results obtained can be used in plasma technologies involving microparticles.