Characteristics of the O(1S) to O(1D) 557.7 nm green emission observed in an argon plasma jet

Abstract

An extensive study on the green auroral emission characterization is presented based on a single dielectric barrier discharge geometry argon plasma jet driven by a kHz sine voltage. The plasma was generated by using 99.999% pure argon and the observed 557.7 nm green line resulted from the excited O(1S) state. An optical emission spectroscopy method using line ratios of argon was used to obtain the electron density and electron temperature under different conditions in the downstream region. The characteristics of discharge and green emission with variations in interelectrode distance, applied voltage (power) and flow rate are discussed. The spatially diffuse distribution of O(1S), owing to its long lifetime, is shown by the short exposure imaging. Two discharge regimes are presented, accompanied by two distinct branches of the green emission intensity, with a clear conclusion that the 557.7 nm emission is favored in the low electron temperature environment. In this work, the intense and diffuse green plume only forms when the downstream electron density is approximately lower than 1 × 1014 cm−3 and the electron temperature is lower than 1.1 eV. By charging the two electrodes in two opposite ways, it is shown that the green emission from oxygen is favored in the case where the electric field and the electron drift are not continuous.