Electron detachment instability and self-organization in strongly electronegative polyatomic gases

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation of the ionization instability and related phenomena in a self-sustained volume discharge (SSVD) in SF6-based mixtures pre-irradiated by a pulsed CO2 laser. The illumination geometry with a diaphragm slit arranged normal to the central electric field line of the discharge gap is considered. The delay times between the laser and voltage applications were varied from a few to several tens of microseconds. The formation and some special features of quasi-periodic filamentary structures in laser-heated SF6-based mixtures at different delays are studied. It is hypothesized that the self-organization observed is caused by the ionization instability developed in the SSVD plasma due to an imbalance between the rates of electron detachment by electron impact and electron–ion recombination. The mathematics of this instability in a zero-dimensional approximation and the characteristic time of its development are given. An imbalance-caused mechanism of conducting channel propagation in SF6-based mixtures at room temperature under the conditions approaching those of the HF laser performance is suggested. It starts from an appreciable decrease in electron–ion recombination rate in an enhanced electric field in the vicinity of the channel tip. The effect of a two-step ionization is assessed.