Measurement of barium ion density in the vicinity of fluorescent lamp electrodes

Abstract

A laser-induced fluorescence technique for the detection and measurement of ionized barium atoms near the vicinity of an oxide-coated electrode in a low-pressure discharge lamp is presented. Ionized Ba atoms are produced by the ionization of neutral Ba atoms in the electrode fall region of the discharge. Radiation at 455.4 nm obtained from a pulsed dye laser was used to excite Ba ii from the ground state, 62S1/2, to the resonance level, 62P3/2, and the fluorescence radiation at 614.2 nm for the 62P3/2→52D5/2 transition was measured. The number density of Ba ii atoms as determined from the measured intensity of the fluorescence signal (614.2 nm) is dependent on the discharge current, and the polarity of the neighboring electrode. It is found to be larger when it is acting as an anode than when it is a cathode.