Population of 2p~55s Levels of Neon in He-Ne Plasma: I. The Evolution of Mechanisms in the Discharge and the Afterglow

摘要

The spectroscopic study of population processes of neon 2p~55s states was carried out in helium afterglow with small admixture of neon at PHe = 38.1 torr, [He]/[Ne] = 10~(-5) with pulsed discharge afterglow in helium with small admixture of neon (pressure equal to 38.1 mm Hg; [He]/[Ne] approx= 10~5). It is established that the main mechanism of population of 3s_2 level (in Paschen's notation) in the discharge and the initial afterglow is the excitation transfer from metastable atoms of He(2~1S_0). The other three levels--3s_3, 3s_4, and 3s_5--corresponding to 2p~55s configuration are populated in the afterglow as a result of the dissociative recombination of HeNe~+ ions with electrons. The same process is also the main channel of population of 3s_2 level in the late afterglow phase, when the concentration of He(2~1S_0) atoms is small. The hypothesis of recombination mechanism is confirmed by observation of the response of line intensities to pulsed electron heating. The partial coefficients of dissociative recombination into 2p~55s states are estimated.