Voids in Dusty Plasma of a Stratified DC Glow Discharge in Noble Gases

Abstract

Experimental investigations of dusty plasma parameters of a DC glow discharge were performed in helium and argon. In the discharge in helium, at high discharge current dust-free regions (voids) were formed in the center of the dust particles clouds that levitated in the strong electric field of a stratified positive column. In experiments with argon, the dust particles were moved from the center of the discharge tube to the periphery at high discharge current. The behavior of voids formation was investigated for different discharge conditions (sort of gas, discharge pressure and discharge current) and dust particles parameters (particles radii and particles total number). It was shown that it is the ion drag force radial component that leads to the formation of voids in helium and moves the particles to the tube periphery in argon discharge.