2023/08/21 by Jente R. Wubs, Laurent Invernizzi, Kristaq Gazeli +6 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Chemistry · Engineering · #Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors #Plasma Diagnostics and Applications #Spectroscopy and Laser Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/5.0160303
openalex publication_date 2023/08/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Terahertz (THz) absorption spectroscopy has recently been developed as a diagnostic technique for measuring absolute ground-state atomic oxygen densities in plasmas. To demonstrate the validity of this approach, we present in this Letter a benchmark against a more established method. Atomic oxygen densities were measured with THz absorption spectroscopy and compared to those obtained from picosecond (ps) two-photon absorption laser induced fluorescence (TALIF) measurements on the same capacitively coupled radio frequency oxygen discharge. Similar changes in the atomic oxygen density were observed with both diagnostics when varying the applied power (20–100 W) and the gas pressure (0.7–1.3 mbar). Quantitatively, the results are in good agreement as well, especially when considering the total margin of error of the two diagnostics. For example, for a gas pressure of 1.3 mbar and an applied power of 30 W, atomic oxygen densities measured with THz absorption spectroscopy and TALIF were (7.0 ± 1.7)×1014 cm−3 and (5.3 ± 3.2)×1014 cm−3, respectively. This shows that THz absorption spectroscopy is an accurate technique that can be reliably used for real-world applications to determine atomic oxygen densities in plasmas.