Dissociation of nitrogen in the plasma-cathode interface of glow discharges

Nitrogen dissociation in the cathode region of glow discharges was studied theoretically by Monte-Carlo simulation and experimentally by optical emission actionometry of lines emitted by atomic and molecular species of this region plasma. In the ranges 0.13-1.3 hPa and 0-0.5 mA/cm2 of gas pressure and current density, dissociation rates of the negative glow plasma seem to be low at the level <1×10−3. In the region close to the cathode these rates are two orders of magnitude higher than that observed in the negative glow. Fast particles (ions and neutrals) impact on the cathode surface seems to be a main source of free atoms here.