Analysis of statistical nature of electrical breakdown time delay in nitrogen at 6.6 mbar pressure in presence of positive ions and N(4S) atoms

On the basis of the mean value of electrical breakdown time delay and the standard deviation of electrical breakdown time delay σ dependence on the afterglow period τ, the mechanisms which dominantly influence to breakdown initiation in nitrogen were separated. It was shown that the positive ions formed in mutual collision of long‐lived metastable molecules have a dominant role in breakdown initiation for τ values up to 70 ms. The metastable molecules were derived from previous breakdown and discharge. In this case σ ≪ t_d and the total time delay t_d is approximately equal to formative time t_f which decreases in value with the increase of overvoltage. When positive ions have a dominant role in the breakdown initiation the Gaussian distribution describes data of t_d ≈ t_f very well. For τ > 1 s, N (⁴S) atoms formed in previous breakdown and discharge, have a dominant role in the breakdown initiation. Then, σ ≈ and Laue's distribution, which is valid for statistical time delay t_s, describes t_d data very well (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)