Investigation of Nitrogen Atoms in Low-Pressure Nitrogen Plasmas Using a Compact Electron-Beam-Excited Plasma Source

Abstract

We developed a new compact electron-beam-excited plasma (EBEP) source with a multihole grid. The source can be reliably operated under low-pressure conditions by controlling the electron-beam current and electron-beam energy independently. In this study, we applied the compact EBEP source to the generation of nitrogen plasma. The absolute nitrogen (N) atom densities in the plasma were evaluated using vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy (VUVAS) with a high-pressure microdischarge hollow cathode (MHCL) as a light source. The electron density and electron temperature were measured using a Langmuir probe. The behavior of N atom densities and electron densities in the plasma are discussed.