Plasma measurements in pulse discharge with resistively heated emissive probe

Abstract

A resistively heated emissive probe has been developed to work in low-pressure air plasma produced by 100 Hz pulsed DC source. The evolution of the discharge and consequent rapid changes in plasma potential and electron temperature are characterized for different fill pressures at constant input voltage of 300 V. The floating point method in the strong emission regime is applied to determine the plasma potential. Emissive probe responds to rapid changes in the discharge current during different stages of the pulse cycle. The electron temperature is determined from the potential difference of hot probe in the strong emission regime and the cold one incorporating the space charge effects of the hot probe. Temporal measurements of V_p and T_e describe the development and characteristics of the emissive probe technique for fast measurements in pulsating discharges.