Spectroscopic studies of high-pressure microhollow cathode discharge plasmas in Ne/H/sub 2/ and Ne/N/sub 2/ mixtures

Summary form only given. We have studied mixtures of high-pressure Ne with traces of N/sub 2/ and observed intense atomic N emissions at 113.4 nm and 120.0 nm. The microscopic processes leading to the N emissions are more complicated than those responsible for the H emissions and may involve the formation of metastable N/sub 2/*(A) molecules as intermediate species. We are carrying out a series of DC and time-resolved spectroscopic studies of the visible N/sub 2/ (2/sup nd/ positive system) and N/sub 2//sup +/ (1/sup st/ negative system) emissions and the atomic N lines at 113.4 nm and 120.0 nm to (i) characterize the plasma properties (rotational, vibrational, electron temperatures) and to (ii) elucidate the underlying process(es) leading to the emission of the atomic N lines and their time scale(s).