The freely localized microwave discharge in air in the focused beam of the electromagnetic energy

The successfull use of the microwave discharge in many applications make it necessary to research the physics of a new kind of discharge - the electrodeless microwave discharge in the focused beam, in the free space and to search for ways to optimize this discharge parameters. The breakdown was performed in a discharge chamber at approximately free space conditions: R/λ much-gt 1, where R = 1 m is the discharge chamber's dimension, λ = 2 divided-by 10 cm is the wavelength of the microwave radiation. The focused electromagnetic beam was formed by a trumped-lens antenna. The electric field E≤6 kV/cm, the density of energy flow S≤105 W/cm2, the wave is linearity polarized. The microwave pulse duration could be changed from 1 μs to 1 ms. The gas pressure (nitrogen, air) is varied from 1 to 760 torr