TRANSPORT-COEFFICIENTS DEFINED BY ARRIVAL TIME SPECTRA OF ELECTRON SWARMS IN KRYPTON GAS

A method of analysis for the swarm parameters deduced directly from the arrival time spectra (ATS) of an electron swarm in gases is presented. In this method the electron swarm parameters, defined as the space derivatives of the moments of the arrival time of the electron density distribution, are calculated using the new continuity equation derived from the Boltzmann equation, for the first time in a real gas. The method is applied to deduce the electron energy distributions and swarm parameters in krypton gas at E/p0=50, 100 and 150 V cm-1 Torr-1, utilising the conventional two-term expansion for solution of the Boltzmann equation, and good agreement with the result by Monte Carlo simulation is obtained. © 1990 IOP Publishing Ltd.