Lifetime measurement of metastable fluorine atoms using electron cyclotron resonance plasma source Available to Purchase

The authors have measured the lifetime of metastable state $(3sP5∕24)$ of F atoms by resonant laser-induced fluorescence method. For this experiment, a special $2.45GHz$ electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source, which is highly efficient in F radical generation and free from magnetic field leakage in front of the beam-emitting orifice, has been developed. Using the ECR plasma gun, the authors observed a precision fluorescence spectrum related to $3pD7∕204(F=4)→3sP5∕24(F=3)$ transition of F radicals, which made it possible to experimentally determine the longitudinal velocity distribution and the angular spread of the F radical beam. Based on these measured beam characteristics, the authors extracted a true decay curve of fluorescence intensity as a function of distance from the source and determined the lifetime of F metastable state $(3sP5∕24)$ as $7.3±0.5μs$⁠.