Comparative study of the decay process of LIP and gas arc in SF6/N2 gas mixture by Thomson scattering

Abstract The SF6/N2 gas mixture mitigates the challenges associated with the use and liquefaction problems of pure SF6. It has great significance to analyze the decay characteristics of the plasma in it. Laser-induced plasma (LIP) and gas arc represent two distinct types of plasma, differing significantly in energy density and duration. This study utilized collective Thomson scattering diagnostics to investigate the temporal and spatial evolution of electron density of these two plasmas, with varying SF6/N2 mix ratios as the gas medium. Our findings indicate that initially, the electron density in gas arc is lower, and its decay rate is generally slower compared to LIP. However, as the SF6 concentration increases, the decay process accelerates for both LIP and gas arcs. It is worth noting that when the SF6 volume fraction exceeds 70%, the decay rate of electron density approaches that of pure SF6 in both plasma types, suggesting a saturation effect near a 70% SF6/N2 mix ratio in terms of electron density decay.