Experimental study on equilibrium deviations in atmospheric pressure argon/helium surface wave discharges

Atmospheric pressure surface wave discharges generated with Ar–He mixtures with He concentrations up to 99% were studied using spectroscopic techniques. The variation of electron density and linear power density with He concentration and along the plasma column is discussed together with the excitation temperatures derived from the Boltzmann plot of the excited states of Ar I and the values of the b(p) parameters to derive the thermodynamic equilibrium state of the discharge. Important deviations with respect to Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium were observed for He concentrations over 50% as the discharge shifts from a recombining to an ionizing behaviour. Furthermore, the discharge kinetic variations behind these changes are discussed.