Design, fabrication, and characterization of direct - current glow discharge

In this thesis, we first had a concise review on plasma physics and electrical discharges in gases. The different types of electrical discharges are introduced and discussed briefly. Then, experimental apertures and set-up used in this work is illustrated. The electrical breakdown in gases is described in details, theoretically as well as experimentally. The comparison between theoretical findings with the experimental results leads us to obtain some fundamental parameters and quantities are important in electric breakdown and discharge in gases, e.g. Stoletow point, maximum electron ionization ability, the cost of electron-ion pair energy, mean free path for electrons, and total cross-section for electron-atom collision in argon gas. At the end, the physical and electrical characteristics of glow discharge and transitions from one discharge regime to other regime, i.e. transition from dark discharge to glow one as well as glow to arc transition are investigated. Structuring and properties of the striation in long tubes in low pressure ambient argon gas is addressed. Inspecting the current-voltage and current-pressure characteristics and their physical interpretations is one of the main part of this thesis.