Effect of vibrational kinetics of He2 + ions on the afterglow of a discharge in helium

A decaying weakly ionized helium plasma [n_e=(0.2–1.1)·10¹¹ cm^–3, p=(40–70) mm Hg] was studied experimentally. It is shown that the experimental time dependences of the intensities of atomic lines and molecular bands in the afterglow phase can be explained if the vibrational kinetics of He₂ ⁺ ions is included in the analysis. Analysis of the measurements shows that for n_e 10¹¹ cm^–3 and N_a 10¹⁸ cm^–3 deexcitation of He₂ ⁺ ions occurs primarily as a result of inelastic collisions with helium atoms. Based on the experimental data, an approximate value was obtained for the rate constants of the vibrational relaxation of molecular helium ions 10^–16 cm³/sec. These results are used for making a qualitative analysis of the distribution of He₂ ⁺ ions over the vibrational states in the discharge phase.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 11, pp. 88–96, November, 1986.     

Decay of the ultraviolet continuum in the afterglow of a pulsed argon discharge

The decay of the ultraviolet continuum in argon has been measured at pressures up to 120 torr. At pressures lower than 20 torr the decay frequency is given by ν_D = 48/Λ²p + 45p + 18.0p².     

The influence of vibrational excitation on the burning voltage of a pulsed electric discharge in HF laser working media

The burning voltages of an intermediate pressure self-sustained volume discharge (SSVD) in SF₆ and SF₆-C₂H₆ mixtures irradiated by a 10.6 μm pulse TEA CO₂ laser, have been measured on varying the laser fluences over a wide range. The delay between the voltage application and the laser pulse onset is 4 μs, and the laser pulse lasts ∼3 μs. The considerable rise observed in the discharge voltages with increasing absorbed specific laser radiation energy, is due to electron attachment to vibrationally excited molecules of SF₆. Different processes of relaxation of the vibrational energy stored in SF₆ molecules are analyzed and the relevant characteristic times are numerically assessed. The gas heating process owing to vibration-translation energy exchange is qualitatively described in terms of the “thermal explosion”. The relation between the “explosion” and delay times determines the peculiarities of electron attachment to vibrationally excited SF₆ molecules. The burning voltages of a submicrosecond non-irradiated SSVD in the above-mentioned media versus the specific electric energy deposited are also measured. They are compared to those of a laser-illuminated SSVD at commensurable specific laser energy depositions. It is concluded that electron attachment to the discharge-produced vibrationally excited SF₆ molecules is not capable of noticeably affecting the discharge voltages of a submicrosecond non-irradiated SSVD. PACS 42.55 Ks; 52.80     

Peculiarities of plasma decay in the afterglow of a low-pressure pulsed discharge in oxygen

Weakly ionized plasma of a pulsed-discharge afterglow in oxygen at low pressures (0.05–0.15 torr) is investigated using probe diagnostics. The plasma conductivity is measured by supplying an additional probing current pulse at a certain instant during the afterglow. The spectral line intensities are also measured to additionally monitor the densities of charged particles. The measurements of the time behavior of the electron density in an oxygen afterglow plasma confirm the previous conclusion that the electrons escape due to enhanced diffusion, which results in the formation of an ion-ion plasma. The possibility of realizing the opposite ultimate case—the detachment decay regime with an increase in the electron density to the density of positive ions in the first stage and the transition to the electron-ion plasma in the second stage—is demonstrated.     

On the recombinational enhancement of ionic lines in the afterglow of a pulsed noble-gas hollow-cathode discharge

Strong recombination peaks were observed at He-, Ne-, and Ar-ion lines in the afterglow of a pulsed, helical hollow-cathode discharge excited by 10 Hz, 0.5–100 µs duration and 1–23 A rectangular current pulses. The intensity of the peaks depended strongly on the high-voltage leading part of the exciting pulse. An optimum was found in the peak intensity as a function of pulse length. The peaks could not be observed at pulses exceeding a certain duration. From results obtained using double-pulse excitation, the peaks are considered to be due to recombination of doubly ionized atoms produced by the high-voltage leading edge of the exciting pulse with thermal-energy electrons. Line intensity investigations using an optical resonator indicate the possibility of gain at the He II 468.6 nm transition.     

Gas formation in liquid in initial stages of a pulsed discharge

Gas formation in electrolytes with=10^–2–10^–4–1cm^–1, distilled water = 10^–5-1.5 ·10^{–6 –1}cm^–1, and chemically pure n-hexane in the initial stages of formation of discharge with rectangular voltage pulses of 0.67 and 1.85 sec duration is investigated. The experimental results are compared with the results of approximate calculations.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii Fizika, No. 11, pp. 42–47, November, 1972.The authors thank V. V. Ryumin for taking part in the discussion of the results and V. V. Lopatin for participation in the experiments with electron-optical light amplifier.     

硅甲烷射频放电分解动力学的CARS光谱研究

应用相干反斯托克斯喇曼光谱(CARS)技术对硅甲烷(SiH_4)的射频放电分解进行在位诊断.基于硅甲烷v_1振动模CARS信号强度的变化,研究了SiH_4-H_2及SiH_4-N_2体系中射频功率及总气压对硅甲烷分解速率的影响.此外,还用CARS方法检测硅甲烷分解的中间产物,得到信噪比较好的光谱,并试作了初步归属.     

Dunham coefficients of 14N2 from CARS measurements of high vibrational states in a low-pressure discharge

Spectroscopic constants of the X ¹Σ_g⁺ ground state of ¹⁴N₂ are deduced from CARS spectra recorded in a 4 Torr d.c. N₂ glow discharge. Vibrational states up to ν = 14 have been observed but only the 11 lower levels which have a good signal-to-noise ratio have been processed. The Dunham constants that were deduced yield vibrational band centre positions in good agreement with those of Lofthus and Krupenie.     

微波气体放电等离子体与余辉中的动理学研究

研究了微秒脉冲聚焦微波束气体放电等离子体的动理学过程。数值模型基于自洽求解的微波电场亥姆霍兹方程、粒子连续性方程以及电子能量、气体分子振动能量和平动能量的平衡方程,并与等离子体动理学反应互相耦合。对比了国外报道的近期两项相关实验：次MW级X波段9.4 GHz微波氮气击穿和MW级W波段110 GHz微波大气击穿。在次MW级实验中,计算所得电子激发态N₂(C³Π_u)的数密度与实验所测发射光谱第二正带隙的强度一致;在MW级实验中,模拟结果重复了发射光谱测量所得振动温度和平动温度对放电气压的依赖关系。结果揭示了上述模拟和实验符合的内在物理机制。     

The role of vibrational temperature variations in a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma device

The use of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas has become a practical way to carry out surface treatment where precise control of the plasma parameters, such as rotational and vibrational temperatures (T_rot and T_vib), is required. As the T_vib of an atmospheric pressure plasma jet appears to be the most important parameter related to the improvement of surface treatments, in this work, we analysed two methods to increase the values of T_vib in a DBD plasma jet device. One of the methods is to reduce the exit size (ø) of the DBD reactor, which results in an increase in the measured T_vib values, due to an increase in the pressure inside the reactor. The other method is to change the gas flow rate (GFR) used to produce the plasma jets. This leads to a T_vib reduction when the GFR is increased in the case of using helium or nitrogen as the working gas, but the opposite happens (an increase in the T_vib values) when argon is used, with different phenomena causing the variation of T_vib in each situation.     

Long lived ionisation in a nitrogen afterglow

An anomalously slow free electron decay is observed in the afterglow of a nitrogen spark discharge. An effective recombination coefficient of 2.5 × 10^?9 cm³/s is ascribed to the decay. Chemiionisation mechanisms which could lead to these observations are discussed.     

The analysis of nitrogen rotational and vibrational bands in a helium microhollow gas discharge

Emission spectroscopy is applied to measure the gas temperature T _g and the vibrational distribution of N₂ (C ³Π_u) and N₂ ⁺(B ²Σ_u ⁺) excited states from a helium microhollow gas discharge (MHGD) at atmospheric pressure. The rotational temperature T _rot of N₂ ⁺ is determined from relative intensity of the R‐branch lines of the N₂ ⁺(B ²Σ_u ⁺–X ²Σ_g ⁺) bands at 427.81 and 419.91 nm and the well‐known Boltzmann plot (BP). Using the same diagnostic technique, the rotationally resolved N₂(C ³Π_u–B ³Π_g) band at 380.49 nm is used to measure T _rot. Under our experimental conditions, T _g is equal to T _rot = 550–650 K for nitrogen molecules and shows a slight increase with the discharge current in the current range 3–10 mA. From the intensity ratio of two consecutive vibrational bands of the same sequence, the N₂(C ³Π_u) and N₂ ⁺(B ²Σ_u ⁺) vibrational temperature T _vib = 3,700–4,000 K is determined. It has been found that N₂ ⁺(B ²Σ_u ⁺) ions have non‐Boltzmann distribution in the helium MHGD, while N₂(C ³Π_u) molecules are populated according to the Boltzmann distribution. Following the Franck–Condon principle, the vibrational distribution of the ground state of N₂(X ¹Σ_g ⁺) molecules has been determined from the N₂(C ³Π_u) distribution using the inversion matrix of elements q _XC(ν ,ν ′).     

Electron kinetics of molecular nitrogen dc discharge

Boltzmann equation for the electron gas in a DC discharge was solved simultaneously with the system of balance equations governing the populations of the vibrational levels in the ground state of molecular nitrogen. The calculation was performed for a stationary discharge in which the vibrational dissociation mechanism (ladder) is compensated by the wall recombination of nitrogen atoms. The results include the electron and molecular vibrational distributions together with the dissociation degree calculated over a wide range of the discharge parameters.     

Population of the higher-lying vibrational levels of the nitrogen B3π state in a glow discharge

The absolute populations of the higher-lying vibrational levels of the B³ state of the nitrogen molecule in a glow discharge have been determined for pressures from 0.1 to 1.0 torr and current densities from 80 to 200 mA/cm². The absolute concentrations of molecules at levels v = 5, 6, ..., 12 under these conditions are of the order of 10⁹–10¹¹ cm^–3. The most probable processes leading to a population of the B³ state are thought to be direct electronic impact, cascade transitions, and collisions of normal molecules with molecules in the singlet state.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii Fizika, No. 2, pp. 57–63, February, 1971.     

A study of CARS nitrogen thermometry at high pressure

The accuracy of CARS N₂ thermometry has been assessed using carefully measured experimental data at high pressures for the temperature range 295 to 870 K and pressure range 1–20 bar. Excellent agreement between calculated and experimental spectra was achieved using statistically based fitting laws to model rotational relaxation. Temperature errors of within ±60 K were achieved using the MEG fitting law, and within ±30 K using an extension to the model (XMEG). Results of separate ab initio IOS calculations with ECS corrections for rotational relaxation gave good overall agreement but did not model the structure of the motionally narrowed spectra as well as the empirical models. The various models were also compared with some complementary data measured by DLR, Stuttgart in their high pressure burner for pressures up to 40 bar. This study also investigated the sensitivity of CARS thermometry to pressure; in certain regions a significant reduction in sensitivity was found. Other key factors investigated include nonlinearities in the intensified diode array detector.Work supported by the CEC Project Turbulent Combustion and Diagnostics and by AEA Technology Underlying Programme     

Spectral study of reactions involving organic vapours and the pink afterglow of nitrogen

Chemiluminescent reactions resulting from addition of C₂H₂ and BrCN to nitrogen showing a pink afterglow have been investigated. The spectra show CN(B→A), CN(B→X), CN(A→X), and N₂(IIP) bands. The CN(B→X) bands are intense and exhibit abnormal rotational distributions with two rotational temperatures (T₁ = 2400°K, T₂ = 400°K). New perturbations and high-J rotational lines are reported. Comparisons of intensities of bands of the CN(B→A) and (B→X) systems yield 1:80 as the ratio of electronic transition probabilities for the two systems.     

Experimental study of pulsed corona discharge in air

We report on the results of experimental investigation of a pulsed corona discharge in electric fields with different degrees of nonuniformity under the action of a standard thunderstorm pulse in a wide range of voltages from the origination threshold to the breakdown. A high-sensitivity video camera makes it possible to record microdischarge and streamer processes in air long before the spark breakdown. It is known that the size of the corona discharge sheath increases with the supplied voltage, and the shape of the corona sheath depends on the polarity of the active electrode [1, 2]. It was demonstrated for the first time by Peek [3] that the range of voltages from the initiation of a corona discharge to the spark breakdown increases with the degree of nonuniformity of the electric field. We show that an analogous pattern is observed for a pulsed corona also. Our results show that the form of a pulsed corona discharge considerably depends on the pulse polarity, and a spark breakdown becomes possible when most branches in the streamer corona cover the electrode gap.