Assessing Apparent Secondary Electron Yields from Current-Voltage Characteristics of Low-Pressure DC Glow Discharges in Nitrogen

The problem of assessing apparent secondary emission coefficient gamma(eff) based on electrical properties of DC glow discharge is considered for the case of low-pressure discharges in nitrogen. Estimation method was based on a previously developed analytical model of a DC glow discharge which has been shown to provide informative data on gamma(eff) for discharges with copper electrodes in argon. Preliminary estimates based from current-voltage characteristics of discharges in nitrogen with copper electrodes were obtained and analyzed. While the averaged value of gamma(eff) agreed well with the one corresponding to conditions of a clean copper cathode, the dependence of gamma(eff) on reduced electric field for each considered CVC exhibited a pronounced decrease. Reasons for such dependence are attributed to uncertainties in the analytical formulation of non-local ionization source for nitrogen used during calculations.