Experimental measurement of the mobilities of atomic and dimer Ar, Kr, and Xe ions in their parent gases

A new experimental technique for measuring the mobilities of positive ions in their parent gases is presented. The technique was applied to the rare gases, Ar, Kr, and Xe, and, for pressures typically below 10 Torr, two different types of positive ions were observed. The reduced mobilities of these ions in their parent gases were measured as a function of E/N, the ratio of the electric field strength to the gas number density, at a temperature of 300±1 K. The results were compared with others available in the literature and the two ions were identified as being the atomic and the dimer rare gas ions. The results are in good agreement with those from other authors. Space charge and impurities effects are discussed.