Dissociation of nitrogen in flowing DC glow plasmas

Results of a mass spectrometric investigation of dissociation of nitrogen in DC glow plasmas in a flowing gas system in the pressure range 1-3 Torr, electron density range (1-8)*10¹⁰ cm^-3 electron temperature range 2.0-2.7 eV and linear flow rate range 1.1-5.8 m s^-1 are presented. The extent of dissociation is of the order of approximately 1%. A simple collisional-radiative model is presented which incorporates several molecular electronic excited states, nitrogen-containing ions, and N atoms. The N atom production is presented as a function of electron density; the predictions of the model are in agreement with the experimental results within an order of magnitude.