Current quenching phenomenon in the pseudospark discharge

Summary form only given, as follows. The quenching of a high pulsed current is a typical phenomenon for different types of low pressure and vacuum discharges, the pseudospark discharge included. One of the interpretations of this phenomenon is based on the supposition that the quenching is due to magnetic compression of the plasma column, similar to the classical Z-pinch. In this approach the voltage kick during the quenching appears as a result of a sharp increase in inductance of the constricted plasma column. We are developing another approach according to which the physical reason of the quenching is a sharp increase in the resistance of the gas discharge gap. Correspondingly, the voltage kick is applied directly to the gap, which leads to an enhanced power input in the plasma and results in an increase in the plasma temperature. In most cases the quenching occurs in the stage of the superdense glow discharge in the conditions when the ionization process in the discharge column is not capable of compensating the losses of the charged particles due to their outflow to the electrodes. During the quenching the voltage is applied mainly to the cathode voltage drop region so that a high-energy electron beam is generated. The energy of this electron beam is dissipated inside the hollow cathode and the plasma temperature and the ionization rate increases. This mechanism is justified by the experiments with the pseudospark discharge at a current level of several kA.