Use of dc Ar microdischarge with nonlocal plasma for identification of metal samples

Abstract

The possibility of using the collisional electron spectroscopy (CES) method for the detection of atoms from metal samples is experimentally verified. The detection and identification of metal atoms from a Pt sample in the nonlocal plasma of short (without positive column) dc Ar microdischarge at intermediate pressures (5–30 Torr) is realized in this work. Cathode sputtering is used for atomization of the metal under analysis. The identification of the analyzed metal is made from the energy spectra of groups of fast nonlocal electrons—characteristic electrons released in the Penning ionization of the Pt atoms by Ar metastable atoms and molecules. The acquisition of the electron energy spectra is performed using an additional electrode—a sensor located at the boundary of the discharge volume. The Pt characteristic Penning electrons form the maxima in the electron energy spectra at the energies of their appearance, which are 2.6 eV and 1.4 eV. From the measured energy of the maxima, identification of the metal atoms is accomplished. The characteristic Ar maxima due to pair collisions between Ar metastable atoms and molecules and super-elastic collisions are also recorded. This study demonstrates the possibility of creating a novel microplasma analyzer for atoms from metal samples.

Numerical study of various scenarios for the formation of atmospheric pressure DC discharge characteristics in argon: from glow to arc discharge

“…The heat flux densities on the cathode and anode included in the boundary conditions of equation (10) were written similarly to [46]…”

“…The main reason for this is the low cost of equipment for generation such discharges, the relative ease of their use and the compact design of plasma devices based on them [1][2][3]. This leads to a wide range of applications of such systems: various sources of radiation, in plasma assisted ignition [4,5], plasma synthesis of nanostructures [6][7][8], devices for surface treatment and coating [9], creation of miniature ionization detectors for analyzing the composition substances [10][11][12][13], the development of devices for plasma biomedicine [14][15][16] and many others. At present, various types of alternative current (AC) discharges * Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.…”

Particle in cell/Monte Carlo collision analysis of the problem of identification of impurities in the gas by the plasma electron spectroscopy method

“…Computed results are consistent with those obtained in the experiments. [7][8][9][10] Indeed, computed EEDF revealed sharp peaks exactly at the release energies of the electrons, emerged in the Penning reactions.…”

“…In the present work, we carried out 1d3v parallel PIC/ MCC analysis of glow discharge plasma in the mixture of helium and argon, related to the problem of identification of impurities in the gas within the PLES method. [6][7][8][9][10] Description of the PIC/MCC model is given in Section II A. The verification of the numerical code is done in Section II B.…”

Determination of organic impurities by plasma electron spectroscopy in nonlocal plasma at intermediate and high pressures

“…Plasma electron spectroscopy (PLES) is one of the most promising novel methods [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The PLES method for analysis of impurities in the gas phase is based on measurements in a nonlocal gas-discharge plasma of the energy spectra of electrons in the Penning ionization reactions of atoms and molecules of an impurity A by metastable atoms of a buffer inert gas B * :…”