MONITORING THE EVOLUTION OF THE 3P2 NEON METASTABLE LEVEL DENSITY IN TEMPORAL AFTERGLOW PLASMA BY ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY USING A PULSED HOLLOW CATHODE SPECTRAL SOURCE

The temporal evolution of the P-3(2) Neon metastable level density during the afterglow plasma of a high current pulsed hollow cathode discharge has been determined by an absorption spectroscopy technique using a pulsed hollow cathode spectral source. The measured values of the Neon 2(3)P(2) state density in the 5-60 mu s temporal afterglow range are found to vary from 3 x 10(12) +/- 20% cm(-3) to 1.7 x 10(11) +/- 20% cm(-3) following an exponential decay curve. The absorption measurements have been performed on the P-3(2) - 2p(4) Neon transition at 633.4 nm. It was shown that using a pulsed spectral source with variable line emission broadening the best absorption sensibility was obtained when the line broadening of the spectral source is closed to the broadening of the emission line of absorbing species from the temporal afterglow plasma.