Characterization of a surface wave argon discharge sustained by microwave

An experimental set-up for production of surface wave discharge in argon is developed and is reported. A 600 W-2.45 GHz quasi-cw magnetron is used as microwave source, which is coupled to the microwave circuit through an electric probe. A microwave resonator is built to operate as the electromagnetic launcher. A dispersion equation for the wave propagation is obtained in the condition of the electron-neutral atoms collision frequency being much lower than the microwave frequency. In this case the surface wave field components in the three media considered are real functions of their arguments, and the axial components of the electric field are expressed in terms of Bessel's functions.