Study of the Properties of a Plain Cathode Grimm-Type Dc Glow Discharge Source Operated in a Current-controlled Pulse Regime

Abstract

Glow discharge sources have been used for analytical purpose for several years. Recently the pulsed operation mode has gained an increasing importance. Operating the source in current-controlled mode instead of the traditional voltage-feed method may have the advantage of precise control of the source’s state and it provides a convenient way to study the relationship among the emitted line intensity and the key parameters of the plasma such as the pressure of the filling gas, the voltage-drop on the source as well as the current flowing through the device. In the following the brief description of the system, the relationship among the voltage drop on the source, the pressure of the filling gas (Ar), the current of the DC pulses as well as the line intensities are presented and discussed.