Solutions of the classical Boltzmann equation for He and Ne gas breakdown

Abstract

A theoretical study of gas breakdown induced by intensive CO2 laser radiation is given. The basic assumption is that the gas breakdown is due to the process of cascade ionization. The Boltzmann equation for the electron energy distribution function is solved. Details of the numerical method and breakdown thresholds for He and Ne gases are given. The results are in reasonable agreement with the experimental results and are rather sensitive to the gas pressure.