PASCHEN'S LAW

Paschen curves obtained for helium, neon, argon, hydrogen and nitrogen, using the expression
for the breakdown voltage as a function of the parameters A,B that interpolate the first Townsend
coefficient.[1]

Paschen's Law is an equation that gives the breakdown voltage, it states that
the voltage necessary to start a discharge or electric arc, between two electrodes in a gas
as a function of pressure and gap length. V = f (p.d)

Paschen studied the breakdown voltage of various gases between parallel metal plates as
the gas pressure and gap distances were varied.

As the pressure was reduced, the voltage necessary to produce arc in the gap decreased
and then increased gradually even exceeding its original value.

He also found that at normal pressure, the voltage needed to cause an arc reduced as the
gap size was reduced but only to a point.

As the gap was reduced further, the voltage required to cause an arc began to rise and
again exceeded its original value.

For a given gas, the voltage is a function only of the product of the pressure and gap
length. The curve he found of voltage versus the pressure-gap length product is
called Paschen's curve. He found an equation that fit these curves, which is now called
Paschen's law.
Paschens curve has proved to be accurate for large gaps and at low pressures

 Paschens curve predicts that the breakdown voltage decreases as the electrode gap
decreases, corresponding with the increasing electric field.

However, at some electrode gap the breakdown voltage reaches a minimum

(approximately 300 V near 5 m to 10 m in atmospheric air), and the breakdown
voltage then increases at successively smaller electrode gaps.

This effect is because more energy is required in the system to overcome the rapid loss of
electrons to surfaces in a microscale gap.

However, many of these recent experimental studies have shown that as the electrode
gap decreases below approximately 10 m, the data deviate from Paschens curve.

Researchers from Bell Labs originally suggested that electron field emission will occur
because of the high electric field in microscale gaps, and these electrons will contribute to
ionization and the overall current thereby mitigating the rapid charge loss
At lower pressures the gas molecules are less densely packed and the mean free path
between collisions is longer. The electrons therefore attain higher speeds before colliding
with the gas molecules, resulting in a lower flashover stress for the same gap. At very
low pressures, such as used in vacuum contactors, the gas atoms are so far apart that the
collision probability is low, with the result that ionisation and flashover takes place at a
much higher value.
An empirical relationship has been suggested by Sohst and Schrder for uniform gaps
with pd values between 10-2and 5.102 bar cm

K=

Work Function of Cathode:

Cathode plays an important role in gas discharges by supplying electrons for the initiation,
sustainance and completion of a discharge. In a metal, under normal condition, electrons are
not allowed to leave the surface as they are tied together due to the electrostatic force
between the electrons and the ions in the lattice. The energy required to knock out an
electron from a Fermi level is known as the work function and is a characteristic of a given
material. The Fermi Level is defined as the highest occupied molecular orbital in the valence
band

at

K,

so

that

there

are

many

states

available

to

accept

electrons

ions.

There are various ways in which this energy can be supplied to release the electron.
Positive ion can cause emission of electrons from the cathode by giving up its K.E on
impact if its Total Energy (I.E+K.E) is greater than twice the work function, than one
electron will be ejected and a secondary electron will neutralize the ion.
Energy (in the form of photons) by UV light can also cause electron to escape from a
metal. It occurs if h > , where is the work function

 Thermionic Emission: At room temperature, the conduction electrons of the metal do

not have sufficient thermal energy to leave the surface. However, if the metals are heated
to temperature 1500K and above, the electrons will receive energy from the violent
thermal lattice in vibration sufficient to cross the surface barrier and leave the metal.
After extensive investigation of electron emission from metals at high temperature,
Richardson developed an expression for the saturation current density Js which shows
that the saturation current density increases with decrease in work function and increase
in temperature.