Surface vibrational relaxation of N<SUB>2</SUB> studied by CO<SUB>2</SUB> titration with time-resolved quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy

International audienceA new method for determination of the wall de-excitation probability γ _\rm N₂ of vibrationally excited N2 on different surfaces exposed to low-pressure plasmas has been developed. A short dc discharge pulse of only a few milliseconds was applied to a mixture containing 0.051% of CO2 in N2 at a pressure of 133 Pa. Due to a nearly resonant fast vibrational transfer between N2(v) and the asymmetric &#957;3 mode of CO2 the vibrational excitation of these titrating molecules is an image of the degree of vibrational excitation of N2. In the afterglow, the vibrational relaxation of CO2 was monitored in situ using quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy. The experimental results were interpreted in terms of a numerical model of non-equilibrium vibrational kinetics in CO2N2 mixtures. Heterogeneous relaxation was the main quenching process of N2(v) under the conditions of this study, which allowed determination of the value of γ _\rm N₂ from the best agreement between the experiment and the model. The new method is suitable for γ _\rm N₂ determination in a single plasma pulse with the discharge tube surface pretreated by a low-pressure plasma. The relaxation probability of the first vibrational level of nitrogen &#947;1 = (1.1 ± 0.15) × 10&#8722;3 found for Pyrex and silica is in reasonable agreement with the literature data. Using the new technique the N2(v = 1) quenching probability was measured on TiO2 surface, &#947;1 = (9 ± 1) × 10&#8722;3. A linear enhancement of the N2(v) wall deactivation probability with an increase in the admixture of CO2 was observed for all studied materials. In order to explain this effect, a vibrational energy transfer mechanism between N2(v) and adsorbed CO2 is proposed