obtained for a dipole with an exponential current distribution in a

collisional plasma. The impedance behavior around the uppper

Employing Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy to Probe Dilute
Species in Hostile Environments
T. G. Spence, B. A. Paldus, E. H. Wahl*, D. D. Aderhold,
J. C. Xie, T. G. Owano", C. 0. Laux*,
C. H. Kruger*, R. N. Zare
hybrid resonance and its application to an ionospheric plasma
diagnostics is studied. This includes the upper hybrid frequency
shift as a h c t i o n of collision frequency and the appearance of
additional resonances for a highly collisional ionospheric plasma.
These theoretical results are compared with measurements from an
antenna immersed in an ionospheric plasma flown from Puerto-
Rico in February of 1998.

Department of Chemistry, Stanford University

*Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University

Cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) is newly developed

spectroscopic technique which may be used to determine the
concentration of very dilute gas-phase species present in hostile
Monday Morning -June I , I998
environments. Unlike traditional absorption techniques which
measure the attenuation of light passing through a sample, in -
I O:OOAM Salon D
CRDS light from a pulsed laser is injected into a high-finesse Oral Session I C
cavity formed by two or more high reflectivity mirrors. Light 5.3 Plasmas for Lighting
leaking from the resonator through one of the mirrors is then used Chair: Voitek Byszewski
to measure the rate of decay of the pulse of light within the cavity.
Absorption by species present within the resonator increase the rate
of decay of light in the cavity. Therefore, by measuring this ring-
down rate with and without sample present within the resonator,
the absorbance of the sample may be measured and its absolute
concentration determined. The largest advantage of CRDS is its
lC01
insensitivity to fluctuations in the intensity of the light source;
these fluctuations limit the sensitivity of traditional absorption
techniques. Furthermore, since the decay of coherent light from Investigation of Lamp Chemical Composition
the resonator is being detected, CRDS may be used to measure by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
species in environments with high background radiation levels
Nancy H. Chen, Helmar G. Adler, and Walter P. Lapatovich
such as flames and discharges. Advancements in the use of this
OSRAh4 SYLVANIA
technique to measure the concentration of species in hostile
Central Research
environments will be discussed as well as the application of
71 Cherry Hill Drive, Beverly, MA 01915
continuous-wave laser sources to the technique.

The utilization of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Impedance Of A Dipole Antenna in a Cold Collisional
Plasma: Theory And Ionospheric Measurements.
Pave1 Nikitin, Charles Swenson
ECE Department, Utah State University
The impedance of a finite dipole antenna immersed into a cold
collisional magnetoplasma is evaluated using a quasi-static theory.
Different possible current distributions on the antenna surface are
considered and their influence on the antenna impedance is studied.
The closed form solution is obtained for a collisionless plasma.
Conclusions about the significance of an assumed current
distribution are drawn and results are compared with those of
Balmain [1969] and others. Simple single quadrature formulas are
(LIBS) as a non-destructive experimental diagnostic for
studying lighting devices is discussed. LIBS involves the
creation of a small plasma localized at the focus of a pulsed
laser beam, and corresponding analysis of the spectrally
dispersed radiation from the plasma. LIBS has been used as a
method for determining the minority elemental composition of
various types of samples.' This work is aimed at applying
LIBS to the species of interest found in metal halide discharge
lamps. A 532 nm, 3 ns FWHM pulse from a Nd:YAG laser
was used to produce a localized plasma in the interior of a
vitreous silica tube containing mercury and sodium-scandium
iodides, while the tube was maintained at operating
temperatures in an oven. Spectral features corresponding to
Hg, Na, and Sc atomic emission were observed, originating
from the evaporated fill chemicals. Time-resolved
spectroscopy was used to record emission spectra at delay
times on the order of a few microseconds following the laser
pulse. At appropriate delay times, the atomic emission lines
could be separated from the continuum background. Effective

122