This paper presents the results of experimental investigations on the generation of supershort avalanche electron beams (SAEB) at nanosecond discharges initiated in gas-filled diodes. In air, at a pressure of 1 atm with a sharply non-uniform electric field, an SAEB is generated from the inter-electrode gap at a solid angle exceeding 2π sr. Reduction of gap d between the cathode and the anode leads to a decrease in the current amplitude of the beam incident on the lateral walls of the gas-filled diode and in an increase in the pulse duration of the beam current both in the axial and radial directions. Pulses of the beam current initiated on the lateral surface of a tube cathode have been recorded. It is shown that to generate electrons with an ‘anomalous’ energy, cathodes with an increased radius of curvature should be used.

Pulsed discharges in high-pressure gases are of considerable interest as sources of nonequilibrium plasma for various technological applications: pollution control, pumping of laser media, plasma-assisted combustion, etc. Recently, attention has been attracted to the use of subnanosecond voltage fronts, producing diffuse discharges with radii of several millimeters. Such plasma structures, similar to pulsed glow discharges, are of special interest for applications due to quasi-uniformity of plasma parameters in relatively large gas volumes. This review presents the results of experimental and computational study of subnanosecond diffuse discharge formation. A description of generators of short high-voltage pulses with subnanosecond fronts and of discharge setups is given. Diagnostic methods for the measurement of various discharge parameters with high temporal and spatial resolution are described. Obtained experimental data on plasma properties for a wide range of governing factors are discussed. A review of various theoretical approaches used for computational study of the dynamics and structure of fast ionization waves is given; the applicability of conventional fluid streamer models for simulation of subnanosecond ionization waves is discussed. Calculated spatial-temporal profiles of plasma parameters during streamer propagation are presented. The efficiency of subnanosecond discharges for the production of reactive species is evaluated. On the basis of the comparison of simulation results and experimental data the effects of various factors (voltage rise time, polarity, etc.) on discharge characteristics are revealed. The major physical phenomena governing the properties of subnanosecond breakdown are analyzed.

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In this article we report on work where the formation of a spark in nanosecond high-voltage discharges was studied in nitrogen, nitrogen-methane mixtures, and air at increased pressures under the conditions of runaway electron generation. Voltage pulses of amplitude ∼90 and ∼250 kV were applied to a point-to-plane gap with a planar anode and a cathode of small curvature radius. Cathode spots appeared early in the discharge, within ∼200 ps of a corona discharge at high rate of rise of the voltage (∼5 × 10¹⁴ V/s) across centimeter point-to-plane gap spacing. The spark leader that bridged the point-to-plane gap propagated from the planar anode with cathode spots and a voltage pulse rise time of less than 1 ns. The discharge from diffuse clouds took the form of diffuse jets with increasing pulse repetition rate, thus achieving the accumulation effect in a repetitively pulsed discharge. Characteristic emission spectra are presented for spark diffuse and corona discharges.