The flash tube discharge mechanism from a study of the digitization pulse output

The digitization pulse obtained from the flash tube has been found to follow the characteristics of the discharge mechanism. Two types of digitization pulses have been observed corresponding to Townsend and streamer discharge mechanisms. The streamer breakdown fields have been found for three different gas compositions: (1) Ne: He (70:30): (2) Ne: He (98:2) and (3) Ne:He (70:30) plus 1% CH4. An attempt has been made to estimate the induced clearing field and its decay with time from a study of the streamer discharge probability with rate. The digitization pulse heights for both streamer and Townsend discharge mechanisms have been investigated as a function of the applied field and the rate of flashing. No significant difference has been found in operation of the tubes for positive and negative applied fields. (Auth.)