Atomic Oxygen Concentration in a Flowing Post-Discharge Reactor

Abstract

Concentration of neutral oxygen atoms in the flowing post-discharge of a pure oxygen microwave discharge at different experimental conditions was determined with a nickel catalytic probe. The post-discharge reactor was setup for metal surface cleaning. It worked at the pressure between 20 and 100 Pa and at output power of the microwave plasma generator between 80 and 150 W. At those experimental conditions the O-atom density was found to be of the order of 10²¹ m⁻³. It increased both with increasing pressure and microwave power. The degree of dissociation of oxygen molecules, on the other hand, decreased with increasing pressure.