Ionization measurements in optically pumped discharges

The kinetics of ionization and electron removal in optically pumped non-equilibrium plasmas sustained by a CO laser are studied using non-self-sustained dc and RF electric discharges. Experiments in optically pumped CO/Ar/N2 mixtures doped with O2 and NO demonstrated that associative ionization of CO produces free electrons at a rate up to S = 1015 cm-3 s-1. The ionization rate coefficient, inferred from the CO vibrational population measurements, is kion = (1.1-1.8)×10-13 cm3 s-1. It is shown that excited NO and possibly O2 molecules also contribute to the vibrationally stimulated ionization process. In a CO/Ar plasma, applying a dc bias to the cell electrodes resulted in the rapid accumulation of a deposit on the negative electrode due to a large cluster ion current. The average mass of an ion in this plasma, estimated by measuring the mass of the deposit, is m250 amu, which is consistent with the mass spectrometer analysis of the deposit. The deposit did not accumulate when small amounts of O2 and NO were added to the CO/Ar plasma, which presumably indicates the destruction of the cluster ions. It is demonstrated that adding small amounts of O2 to the optically pumped CO/Ar plasmas significantly increases the electron density, from ne = (4-7)×109 cm-3 to ne = (1-2)×1011 cm-3. This effect occurs at a nearly constant (within 50%) electron production rate S, indicating a substantial reduction in the overall electron removal rate. This reduction can be qualitatively interpreted as the destruction of rapidly recombining cluster ions in the presence of the O2 additive, and their replacement by monomer ions with a slower recombination rate. Further studies of the ion composition in optically pumped plasmas are suggested.

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