Discharge resistance and power dissipation in the self-pulsing regime of micro-hollow cathode discharges

Abstract

Micro-hollow cathode discharges (MHCDs), driven by a dc voltage source, may operate in a self-pulsing regime during which the voltage and the current across the discharge are pulsed with a frequency of several tens of kilohertz. A model for the self-pulsing regime of MHCDs is proposed based on an equivalent electrical circuit of the whole device. The discharge itself is modeled by a non-linear resistance in series with an inductance, and it is placed in parallel with the capacitance of the electrode–dielectric–electrode sandwich hosting the discharge micro-hole. The capacitance of the coaxial cable used to feed the device is also included. It is shown that a detailed comparison between theory and experiments allows the discharge non-linear resistance to be accurately determined. When the discharge current is maximum, this resistance is about 2500 Ω at 50 Torr and decreases to about 750 Ω at 150 Torr. The absorbed power is calculated throughout the self-pulsing cycle and may be above 100 W at the current peak, while the time-averaged power remains a fraction of a Watt.