Effect of negative ions on probe measurements in a chemically reacting plasma at negative probe potentials

Probe measurements in a chemically reacting plasma provide information about certain parameters of the medium, for example, the effective ionization rate 1, 2]. At atmospheric pressure in a low-temperature plasma containing electronegative components with significant electron affinity (of the order of or greater than 1.5 eV) considerable negative ion concentrating may occur. The effect of the negative ions on the volt-ampere characteristic (VAC) of the probe when the chemical reactions in the plasma are assumed to be frozen was investigated in 3, 4]. Here, the VAC is obtained for negative probe potentials with allowance for ionization and electron attachment reactions whose characteristic lengths are of the order of the dimensions of the region disturbed by the probe. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 163–169, September–October, 1988.