Townsend Instabilities in a Modified Discharge System With Coupled Narrow Gaps

Townsend-type discharge in a modified gas discharge cell with coupled narrow gaps between a high-resistivity semiconductor plate and two planar electrodes is experimentally studied in the range of gas pressure 28-352 torr for various interelectrode distances (d₁ = 50 μm, d₂ = 50 - 320 μm). The effect of various diameters on the photodetector area to the discharge (D = 9 - 12 - 15 mm) are considered as well. It is observed that Townsend discharge is unstable at low current densities for certain experimental parameters. The temporal dynamics of the current fluctuations is measured around I = 50 μA. Interactions of plasmas with surfaces and space charge effects in many cases are the main reason for the nonlinear effects in gas discharges with increasing current.