Electron avalanche sliding along a dielectric surface

Abstract

Abstract We consider the dynamics of an electron avalanche propagating along a dielectric surface in a channel wherein the Townsend breakdown condition does not hold. We show that when the angle θ between the electric field and the channel wall is less than some critical value θ cr , the electron avalanche grows. The function θ cr = θ cr (E) is found by kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations for a mixture of Xe and Ne gasses