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 similar to 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 I Tort, with a fast Langmuir probe. Characteristic values for the electron density are of order of 10(17) cm(-3), for high pressure operation, and 10(14) 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.