Optical Characteristics of Radiation from N2* Dimers in a Barrier Discharge

The spectral and power characteristics of radiation of the second positive system of nitrogen (C-3 Pi(u) -> B-3 Pi(g)) in Ar-N-2 and Ar-N-2-Cl-2 mixtures excited by barrier discharge have been studied experimentally. Addition of argon to N-2 increased the radiation power by sixfold. In the triple mixture Ar-N-2-Cl-2 = 210/0.5/0.005, minor chlorine additions increased the intensity of the C-3 Pi(u)-> B-3 Pi(g) transition by 26% compared to Ar-N-2 mixtures. Radiation power density of 2.7 mW/cm(2) has been achieved. In both binary and triple mixtures, the second positive system of nitrogen was the major contributor to radiation, while the contributions of the fourth positive system of N-2*(D (3)Sigma(+)(u) -> B (3)Pi(g)), the Vegard-Kaplan transition of N-2* (A (3)Sigma(+)(u) -> X (1)Sigma(+)(g)), and the D' -> A' band of Cl-2* were negligibly small.