Vol. 39, issue 07, article # 2

Abstract:

Highly sensitive analysis of neutral gas components, including H₂O vapor, in high-vacuum electrical installations designed to generate low-temperature plasma is a pressing analytical and metrological challenge. This article presents a spectrophotometer based on tunable diode lasers designed for the spectral analysis of H₂O traces in the vacuum chambers of low-temperature plasma generators using RF- and MW-discharges. The spectral range 7338–7370 cm^-1 where vibration-rotational absorption lines of H₂O of various symmetry and intensity are located was used for the analysis. Both the detection of the transmission spectra and their derivatives were used for highly sensitive analysis of traces of H₂O at low pressures. The sensitivity to resonance absorption and concentration sensitivity in detecting traces of H₂O in a rarefied gaseous medium were estimated.

Keywords:

H2O absorption spectra, analysis of trace H2O concentration, low-temperature plasma generators, tunable diode laser

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