Experimental study of the creation of a surface-wave-sustained argon plasma column at atmospheric pressure

The creation and stabilization processes of an argon surface-wave-sustained discharge at atmospheric pressure have been studied by means of a power interruption technique. The analysis of the temporal behavior of the radial electric field intensity outside the plasma has permitted us to study the advance of the ionization front along the plasma column. However, the temporal evolution of the intensity of some atomic emission lines has also been analyzed during the creation process of the discharge. Some relevant results of this study are presented and discussed in terms of the ionization front and the stabilization of the electric field as well as the temporal evolution of excited level populations of the species.