Dynamics of the Townsend discharge in argon

The characteristic time $\vartheta$ of the response of the Townsend discharge in argon is determined in short gaps at room and cryogenic ($\sim$ 100 K) temperatures. In the structure used in experiments, one electrode is made of semi-insulating gallium arsenide, which ensures stabilization of the spatially homogeneous state of the discharge. The values of $\vartheta$ are obtained from the observed resonance frequency of the given structure. It is found that for both experimental temperatures, time $\vartheta$ in argon considerably exceeds the experimental values for a discharge in nitrogen in thin gaps, which were obtained earlier at room temperature. The results are of interest, in particular, for the development of high-speed IR image converters, in which the Townsend discharge in thin gaps is used.