LASER ENHANCED ATTACHMENT IN DIFFUSE DISCHARGES.

Measurements of the effect of laser-enhanced attachment on externally sustained diffuse discharges are reported. The attachment rate of an electronegative gas component, representing approximately 1% of the gas in the discharge volume, was increased by means of vibrational excitation with a pulsed IR-laser beam. The experiments were performed with vinyl chloride and trifluoroethylene. The resistivity change of the discharge was measured on excitation with a laser pulse of constant peak power; the applied voltage (E/N) was varied, as was the laser wavelength, for constant E/N. It was found that the resistivity change as a function of the laser wavelength follows the IR radiation absorption rate of the electronegative gas.