Practical sensor for nitrogen in direct current glow discharges

This paper presents a method for precise measurement of atomic and molecular nitrogen in an oxygen-nitrogen dc plasma. This is achieved by monitoring the intensities of the atomic nitrogen spectral line at 821.6 nm and the molecular nitrogen bandhead at 337.1 nm, relative to the atomic oxygen spectral line at 844.7 nm. Oxygen is one of the most frequently used gases for surface chemical treatment, including deposition and etching, therefore the ability to measure and control the process and chemical composition of the process is essential. To validate this oxygen actimometry method for $N2-xO2$ (where $x$ varies from 0 to 1) dc plasmas, threshold tests have been performed with Ar actinometry. The optical measurements have been performed using two methods. The first approach uses a USB2000 fiber optic spectrometer, calibrated with a Gigahertz–Optik BN-0102-1 reference standard source, to record the desired spectral lines. The second approach uses narrow bandwidth optical filters $(∼0.7–0.07nm)$ with central wavelengths of 821.6, 337.1, and 844.69 nm and photodiodes to detect the emission intensity, also calibrated with the same standard source. Optical data are collected for a range of experimental conditions in a flowing glow discharge of $N2-xO2$ mixture. The maximum dc voltage is 2.2 kV and maximum chamber pressure is 266 Pa. Data from both optical methods are compared and used to interpret the relative atomic and molecular nitrogen concentrations under various operating conditions.