Decay of Metastable Argon Atoms in the Afterglow Plasma

Time-dependent studies of the particle density in 1s5 state of Ar plasma are performed using single-frequency laser absorption probing. The applied voltage on the 400 Pa striated plasma (current: 0.01–20 mA DC) is cut off, and from the decay curve studies of the density, the following rates are obtained: the rate of collision between 1s5–1s5 metastable atoms α (cm3 s-1)=(2.0±0.5)×10-8, the rate of collision between 1s5 metastable atoms and electrons Fe (cm3 s-1)=3.8×10-7 and the electron loss rate in the afterglow γe (s-1)=250+1.0×10-7×ne, where ne (cm-3) is the electron density. We also present the time-dependent ne behavior in one striation peak using values obtained here.