Frequency response characteristics of trichel pulses and the behavior of the cathode spot in a negative corona discharge

A negative corona discharge in the regime of Trichel pulses has been investigated in air at atmospheric pressure. Correlation between the behavior of the cathode spot and oscillograms of the discharge current has been revealed. The frequency response characteristics of the negative corona current have been measured as functions of voltage, tip curvature, interelectrode distance, and cathode material. It has been determined that the curvature of the tip surface in the cathode-spot localization region decisively affects the amplitude of pulses.