title: Hydrogen dissociation in a H2-N2 pulsed dc glow discharge
abstract: The absolute concentration of hydrogen atoms is measured in the positve column of a pulsed dc discharge by two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence in H2 and H2-N2 gas mixtures at constant pressure and current. The discharge pulse duration is varied from 10 microseconds to 1 msec. For shorter pulse durations of 10 and 100 microseconds, the H-atom signal decreased monotonically with H2 concentration; for longer pulse durations of > or = 500 microseconds, the fractional dissociation of the H2 is enhanced with increasing N2 concentration. The change in H-atom production from direct electron impact dissociation of H2 at short times compared to that from multiquantum vibrational energy transfer induced dissociation of H2 at long times is determined from temporally resolved H-atom concentration measurements.
authors.affiliation: Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Dayton, Ohio 45440-3638, USA.
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Ganguly