Generation of current pulses during polarisation of air ionised by ultraviolet laser radiation

Current pulses were generated in the course of the polarisation of air ionised by ultraviolet radiation. The dependence of the current pulse duration on the air pressure had a maximum. The amplitude of the pulses depended quadratically on the intensity of the laser radiation with the wavelength of 266 nm; the amplitude increased when the pressure was reduced in the range 10–760 Torr.