Abstract
The emission spectrum of molecular nitrogen excited in pulsed electric discharges has been examined by means of time-resolved spectroscopy. Thereby we obtain a spectrum characteristic of a particular moment in time or, alternatively, a record of the emitted light as a function of time at a particular wavelength. The experiments consist of establishing appropriate atmospheres of flowing gas and imposing on them electrical excitation pulses of various voltages, widths, and repetition rates. Meanwhile, the molecular emission is monitored throughout the period of excitation, and beyond, in order to track the distribution of excited-state level populations as they evolve in time and under the influence of collisions. The time resolution of the methods employed here has been chosento provide for the evaluation of molecular population distributions on a collision-by-collision basis, which for present purposes is of the order of 1 μsec. Examining both changing spectra and the time signatures of individual emitting species, we attempt to interpret the processes underlying shifts in the molecular populations in a pulsed electric discharge.
© 1991 Optical Society of America
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B. A. Carragher, J. Morrill, and W. Benesch, "Gas-phase molecular energy transfer studies with time-resolved spectroscopy: errata," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 8, 2224-2224 (1991)https://opg.optica.org/josab/abstract.cfm?uri=josab-8-10-2224
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