A volume-averaged model is used to study the self-pulsing operation of a micro hollow cathode discharge in helium. An equivalent circuit with a nonlinear resistance is employed to model the discharge in this regime. The effects of the applied voltage and the gas pressure on the self-pulsing frequency, particle densities, and electron temperature are carefully studied. The simulation results are also compared with those of the argon micro hollow cathode discharge. The results show that the time-averaged densities in the self pulsing regime are close to the steady-state densities. Both the applied voltage and the background gas pressure have remarkable effects on the self pulsing frequency and consequently on the average densities. However, the pressure effects are much stronger than those of the applied voltage. The results also indicate that there is an optimum pressure, in which PD (D is the diameter of the hole) reaches its upper limit, and the electron density is maximized. By further increase in the pressure, the electron density declines. However, the densities of the excited particles are independent of PD and always increase with the increase in pressure. It is also found that the electron density in the helium discharge is less than that of the argon. But, the reverse is true for the electron temperature. The higher electron temperature in the helium discharge is a key factor in increasing the efficiency of production of the reactive species.

体积平均模型用于研究氦中微空心阴极放电的自脉冲操作。使用具有非线性电阻的等效电路来模拟这种情况下的放电。仔细研究了施加电压和气压对自脉冲频率、粒子密度和电子温度的影响。模拟结果还与氩微空心阴极放电的结果进行了比较。结果表明，自脉冲状态下的时间平均密度接近稳态密度。外加电压和背景气压对自脉冲频率和平均密度都有显着影响。然而，压力效应比施加电压的效应强得多。PD（D是孔的直径）达到上限，电子密度最大化。随着压力的进一步增加，电子密度下降。然而，激发粒子的密度与PD无关，并且总是随着压力的增加而增加。还发现氦放电中的电子密度小于氩的电子密度。但是，电子温度正好相反。氦放电中较高的电子温度是提高活性物质生产效率的关键因素。