AbstractIn complex plasmas, dust particles are charged through their interactions with the electrons and the ions of the surrounding plasma. In laboratory discharges, when the discharge is turned off, the charged species of the plasma diffuse away and recombine into neutral species. When dust particles are present inside the plasma, the diffusion of charged species is affected and the plasma decay time can be strongly shorten. Moreover, the dust particles loose their electric charge during the afterglow period. However, dust particles do keep residual charges in the late afterglow and the value of these charges strongly depends on the ambipolar‐to‐free diffusion transition (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)