Nonequilibrium and effect of gas mixtures in an atmospheric microplasma

The gas and effective electron temperatures have been estimated for atmospheric microplasma by means of optical emission spectroscopy. The results have shown that the microplasma exhibits nonequilibrium and, as its size is reduced, the two temperatures depart from each other, enhancing the nonequilibrium characteristic. The effect of methane and oxygen concentrations has also been studied, showing that gas mixtures have an important effect on the microplasma state. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.