Gas breakdown and secondary electron yields

In this paper we present a systematic study of the gas breakdown potentials. An analysis of the key elementary processes in low-current low-pressure discharges is given, with an aim to illustrate how such discharges are used to determine swarm parameters and how such data may be applied to modeling discharges. Breakdown data obtained in simple parallel-plate geometry are presented for a number of atomic and molecular gases. Ionization coefficients, secondary electron yields and their influence on breakdown are analyzed, with special attention devoted to non-hydrodynamic conditions near cathode.