High-speed camera study of the surface wave discharge propagation in xenon

The formation and advance of filamentary and diffusive microwave surface wave plasma columns in xenon are studied by means of a high-speed camera. The framing photographs show that the ionization front of the filamentary surface wave discharge exhibits a corona-leader-like behavior. The streak photographs show that during the ionization front propagation, the discharges in both forms are sustained by a standing surface wave. At lower pressures, the streak photographs reveal the existence of a localized highly-luminous ionization front, which could indicate the presence of resonance absorption. The ionization front propagation velocity of both filamentary and diffusive plasma columns is measured as a function of microwave power.