Electrical discharges between heated tungsten filament electrodes in inert gases have been investigated. The gas pressure and filament temperatures were chosen to simulate conditions in gas-filled incandescent lamps. Before breakdown, two distinct current-voltage regions with positive slope were observed; in the first the currents can be regarded as space-charge limited, in the second they are the saturation currents of the cathode. The transition from the first region to the second is caused by positive ions of the inert gas which are created by impact ionization. The final breakdown has to be attributed to a thermal breakdown of the cathode.
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References
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