Effects of argon content on the characteristics of neon-argon glow-discharge reference tubes

Measurements have been made on certain glow-discharge stabilizer tubes to determine the influence of varying the argon content on the running-voltage/current curves, the running-voltage/temperature curves, the initial drifts, and the impedance/frequency and noise characteristics. Neon-filled tubes, with argon contents varying over the relatively wide range of 0.001¿10%, having molybdenum anodes and cathodes, and employing high-stability reference-tube manufacturing techniques, have been specially constructed for the investigations. The results of the studies are presented and discussed.