Kinetics of metastable atoms and molecules in N2 microwave discharges

The kinetics of ground-state N(4 S) and metastable N(2 D) and N(P-2) atoms and of the molecular metastable state N-2(A(3)Sigma(u)(+)) are studied in the framework of a self-consistent model for a nitrogen surface-wave discharge. These species are shown to be strongly coupled under the discharge conditions of this study: field frequency omega/2pi = 2.45 GHz; gas pressure p = 267 Pa. The production and loss mechanisms of each of these species are analysed and discussed in detail. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.