Investigation of a dense, chemically reacting plasma by the high-frequency probe potential modulation method

A method is proposed for investigating a chemically reacting plasma by means of an electric probe whose potential is modulated by a high-frequency sinusoidal voltage. The method is based on the use of a numerical solution of the problem of an electric probe introduced under negative potential into a steady-state low-temperature plasma formed in a mixture of chemically reacting molecular gases. The conditions under which the charged particle concentration in the region undisturbed by the probe is constant as a result of equilibrium between the ionization and recombination rates are examined.