Electron-temperature dependence of nitrogen dissociation in 915 MHz ECR plasma

Abstract The nitrogen molecular dissociation level in 915 MHz ECR plasma was evaluated as a function of the electron temperature by optical emission spectroscopy. The intensity ratio of N line to N2 line, which provides information on changes in the degree of dissociation of nitrogen molecules, was found to increase monotonously from 0.01 to 0.07 with increasing the electron temperature from 2 to 7 eV. Furthermore, it was confirmed that increasing the electron density and/or the introduction of argon in the discharge significantly enhanced the nitrogen molecular dissociation level.