Experimental studies on recombination processes in pulsed high-voltage discharge

Spectral investigations of the high-voltage pulsed neon discharge are presented in order to provide a better understanding of the physical processes responsible for energy level population of the atoms in the discharge. The persistent afterglow radiation and the behaviour of the spectral lines in the late afterglow can be explained only in terms of electron-ion recombination. The study of the time-dependent behaviour of the intensity of different spectral lines leads to the conclusion that the recombination processes which populate the very high energy levels of neon and the recombination processes which populate 2 pi levels are different from one another. (Author)