Pre-breakdown Ionization in Molecular Nitrogen in E x B Fields

Abstract

Pre-breakdown ionization measurements in molecular nitrogen are examined to establish whether the influence of a transverse magnetic field is equivalent to an increase in the gas pressure from p to Pe = p(l+w2/v2 )<, where w is the electron cyclotron frequency, and v is a constant, effective, electron-molecule collision frequency. When the value of E/Pe lies within the range 150 < E/Pe < 250 V cm-1 torr-I, v has a constant value equal to 8·3 X 10·p s-" but when E/Pe < 150, vip must decrease with decreasing E/Pe for satisfactory agreement to be maintained. The possibility of extending the concept to account for the changes in secondary ionization and the breakdown potential in nitrogen are also discussed.