Philippine E-Journals

Plasma Characterization of Argon DC Glow Discharges

Paz Victoria T. Ramos | Ivan B. Culaba

Discipline: Analytical Chemistry

 

Abstract:

The discharge characteristics of a DC glow discharge with argon as the working gas in a reconfigured high kinney vacuum system was investigated by evaluating the glow discharge Paschen curve, current-voltage and current-pressure curves at different pressure regimes and applied voltages. Optical emission spectroscopy was employed to identify active argon ion species found in the cathode, positive column and anode regions of the glow discharge. Results show that the minimum breakdown occurs at 220V at 0.2073 torr-cm at a fixed electrode distance of 9.0 cm. The discharge current I varies at different pressure regimes and magnitude of applied voltages. The I-V and I-P curves exhibited the characteristic of an abnormal glow discharge .Optical emission spectra show that active argon ions are mostly found in the cathode and positive column regions of the glow discharge which indicates that optimal surface modification of substrates due to ion bombardment will occur in these regions. Such results become increasingly important for future works on plasma treatment of polymer surfaces.