Optical emission spectroscopy of carbon arc discharge plasma

Abstract

The arc discharge plasma is one of the efficient technique to fabricate nano-structures such as nanotubes, nanoparticles and thin films, which have variety of technological applications. In this study, plasma dynamics such as the electron density and temperature for arc discharge carbon plasma in methane ambient environment is presented to investigate the impact and contribution of physical parameter as arc current and ambient pressure on the plasma dynamics. The electron temperature and density is estimated applying in situ optical emission spectroscopy. The optical spectra are recorded for applied arc current 50A, 60A, 70A, 80A and 90A for ambient pressures 100torr, 300torr and 500torr. A rise in electron temperature and electron density is detected with increase in applied arc current and ambient pressure. The obtained results reveal that in arc discharge process, the arc current and ambient pressure have significant contribution towards the kinetics of the plasma species.