Characterization of afterglow kinetics at atmospheric pressures by emission spectroscopy. I: reactions of neon ions with

Abstract

The afterglow of a 1 kA, 10 ns duration discharge in neon at 1-4 bar pressure containing up to 10 mbar of reactant admixture was studied by time-resolved emission spectroscopy. Destruction rates of neon ions have been experimentally determined from the selectively excited fluorescence of emitted as the result of charge transfer. Reasonable agreement with previously reported results was obtained over the smaller range of nitrogen pressures (below 0.8 mbar) used in those studies. Data obtained at reactant pressures higher than about 1.2 mbar were consistent with a kinetic model in which vibrationally excited ions play an important role. The slow collisional relaxation of these ions (rate coefficient ) would limit the rate of to conversion at neon pressures higher than about 0.2 bar.