Study of moving striations in plasmas. V. A study of the saturation process in large amplitude moving striations

Abstract

Measurements made near the Pupp current limit for the existence of moving striations in neon illustrate the process of saturation of moving striations as the column amplification increases. The measurements show that the nature of the striations changes from the characterization of Pekárek for small amplitude to that of Nedospasov for large amplitude as the plasma potential variation in the striation approaches the potential drop of the external electric field per striation wavelength. Measurements of the relative phases of electron temperature, plasma potential, and luminous intensity for striations near the Pupp current limit are presented.