Properties of Plasma Jets Emitted in Pulsed Capillary Discharges

The basic properties of plasma jets emitted by pulsed capillary discharges (PCD) are investigated. The PCD operates with a ∼2 kA, 10 ns current pulse, in argon in the 0.5-100 Torr pressure range. The electron density in the high pressure range, 20-100 Torr is measured with a time resolved Michelson interferometer and in the low pressure range, below 1 Torr, with a fast Langmuir probe. Characteristic values for the electron density are of order of 1017 cm-3, for high pressure operation, and 1014 cm-3, for the lower pressure range. In this limit, the characteristic electron temperature of the plasma jets is found to be in the 10 to 20 eV range