Detection of deuterium and hydrogen using laser-induced helium gas plasma at atmospheric pressure

An experimental study on gas analysis by means of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy was conducted using a Nd-yttrium aluminum garnet laser (1,064 nm, 120 mJ, 8 ns) and helium host gas at atmospheric pressure on a sample of mixed water (H2O) and heavy water (D2O) in vapor form. It was shown that completely resolved hydrogen (H-alpha) and deuterium (D-alpha) emission lines that are separated by only 0.179 nm could be obtained at a properly delayed detection time when the charged particles responsible for the strong Stark broadening effect in the plasma have mostly disappeared. It is argued that the helium metastable excited state plays an important role in the hydrogen excitation process. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.