Dynamics of the Townsend Discharge in Argon

The characteristic time (sic) of the response of the Townsend discharge in argon is determined in short gaps at room and cryogenic (similar to 100 K) temperatures. In the structure used in experiments, one electrode is made of semi-insulating gallium arsenide, which ensures stabilization of the spatially homogeneous state of the discharge. The values of (sic) are obtained from the observed resonance frequency of the given structure. It is found that for both experimental temperatures, time (sic) in argon considerably exceeds the experimental values for a discharge in nitrogen in thin gaps, which were obtained earlier at room temperature. The results are of interest, in particular, for the development of high-speed IR image converters, in which the Townsend discharge in thin gaps is used.