Spectroscopic investigations of a dielectric-surface-discharge plasma source Available to Purchase

Spectroscopic investigations of the properties of a plasma produced by a flashboard plasma source, commonly used in pulsed plasma experiments, are presented. The plasma is used to prefill a planar 0.4 $μ$s conduction time plasma opening switch (POS). A novel gas-doping technique and a secondary surface flashover plasma source are used to locally dope the plasma with gaseous and solid materials, respectively, allowing for spatially resolved measurements. The electron density, temperature, and plasma composition are determined from spectral line intensities and line profiles. Detailed collisional-radiative modeling is used to analyze the observed line intensities. The propagation velocity and divergence angle of various ions are determined from time-of-flight measurements and Doppler broadening of spectral lines, respectively. This allows for distinguishing the secondary plasma ejected from the POS electrodes from the plasma of the flashboard source.