Electron Energy Distribution in a High Pressure Gas Discharge Sustained by a High Current Electron Beam

Abstract

The electron energy distribution in a high pressure molecular gas discharge sustained by a high current electron beam is calculated for the electron energies strongly exceeding the ionization energy. The consideration is valid also for the non-uniform local distribution in velocity space. An approximate analytical solution is carried out, and the expression for the integrated distribution function F (ν)= ∫ ν f ( ν, r )dθd 3 r is given. Using this function we calculate the number of ionizations assuming three-body recombination as the main loss mechanism. We also calculate the specific energy deposited in the gas mixture and compare it with experimental results. The agreement is found to be reasonable, which emphasizes the necessity of the kinetic approach.