Self-pulsing of hollow cathode discharge in various gases

In this paper, we investigate the self-pulsing phenomenon of cavity discharge in a cylindrical hollow cathode in various gases including argon, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, and air. The current-voltage characteristics of the cavity discharge, the waveforms of the self-pulsing current and voltage as well as the repetition frequency were measured. The results show that the pulsing frequency ranges from a few to tens kilohertz and depends on the averaged current and the pressure in all gases. The pulsing frequency will increase with the averaged current and decrease with the pressure. The rising time of the current pulse is nearly constant in a given gas or mixture. The self-pulsing does not depend on the external ballast but is affected significantly by the external capacitor in parallel with the discharge cell. The low-current self-pulsing in hollow cathode discharge is the mode transition between Townsend and glow discharges. It can be described by the charging-discharging process of an equivalent circuit consisting of capacitors and resistors.