Effects of gas temperature and electron temperature on species concentration of air plasmas

The applications of atmospheric pressure air plasma, such as absorption and reflection of electromagnetic radiation, require an electron density of 1012 cm(-3) or higher. To achieve the required electron density, the electron temperature needs to reach certain level for a given gas temperature. In this manuscript, to obtain an electron density of 1012 cm(-3) in one atmospheric pressure air, the required electron temperatures are studied for the given gas temperatures from 500 to 2000 K. It is found that the required electron temperatures decrease dramatically from 15 310 to 11750 K when the gas temperature increases from 500 to 1000 K, but further increase the gas temperature to 2000 K; the electron temperature of 11 315 K is still needed to achieve an electron density of 1012 cm(-3). (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.