Elimination of distortions, associated with finite conductivity of plasma, in probe measurements of the electron distribution function

We describe a scheme that enables time-resolved recording of the electron distribution function. This scheme makes it possible to compensate for the distorting effect of the nonzero resistance of the plasma column between the reference electrode and the probe. The compensation method is based on the use of an additional probe, which was used for finding the shift of the space potential and the resistance of the plasma at each point of the current-voltage characteristic. The experiments performed in afterglow plasma showed that this scheme is very effective for performing probe measurements of the distribution function.