Mike D. Bowden

Theoretical calculation and experimental observation of stark profiles of Argon spectral lines for the measurements of electric fields in a discharge plasma

Stark profiles of spectral lines corresponding to the transitions between Rydberg levels and low lying levels of atoms can serve as sensitive detectors of electric fields in a plasma. We report the development of a method for measurements of electric fields in glow discharge plasmas, based on Stark spectroscopy of argon atoms. The key feature of the method is that the electric field is determined by matching experimentally obtained spectra of absorption of laser radiation to theoretically calculated spectra.

Measurements of Electric Fields in a Discharge Plasma Using Laser Optogalvanic Detection of the Stark Effect of Argon Atoms

The spatial distribution of the electric field in the vicinity of a cathode in a dc glow discharge in argon gas was studied. The effect of the electric field on the laser-optogalvanic (LOG) spectra of argon atoms was used to determine the electric field. The magnitude of the electric field F was determined by comparing the experimental LOG spectra of argon atoms with a set of corresponding theoretically obtained spectra calculated for different values of F. The effect of the electric field gradient within the spatial width of the laser beam was taken into account.