Determination of electron temperature from spectral line intensity decay for radiation dominated plasmas

Abstract

We describe a technique to absolutely estimate the electron temperature in radiation dominated plasmas from the temporal decay during the plasma afterglow of the intensity of a single spectral line. The model and underlying assumptions are described. We apply the model to data in both rf heated argon discharges and electron cyclotron heated He/Hdischarges in the H-1 heliac. The results agree well with probe measurements.