Monte Carlo calculation of electron back diffusion in a Townsend discharge
- 1 June 1977
- journal article
- research article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Applied Physics
- Vol. 48 (6), 2213-2216
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.324024
Abstract
The back diffusion of electrons in a Townsend discharge has been analyzed by a simple Monte Carlo calculation. The problem was formulated in terms of three parameters: the ratio of molecular mass to electronic mass, the average number of collisions of an electron, and v0/vd, the ratio of emission speed to drift speed. In all cases, the back diffusion is found to be small at low values of the third parameter. It rises to a maximum and then decreases at larger values of v0/vd. For an absorbing cathode, the back diffusion is found to be predicted by the Thompson-Loeb formula with surprising accuracy, considering the approximate nature of its theoretical basis. Results are presented in a form that permits reasonable estimation of the back diffusion to be expected in experimental situations for which the parameter E/N is sufficiently high that the thermal gas motion may be neglected and sufficiently low that ionization is unimportant.Keywords
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