Effects of Surface Thermal Field on the Discharge Characteristics of Nitrogen Plasma

Abstract

Low-pressure plasma possesses significant application potential in materials fabrication and electrocatalysis due to its abundant reactive species, controllable discharge conditions, and capability for surface modification. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the evolution of the surface thermal field during conventional plasma treatment, which limits further optimization of material structure and performance. In such works, infrared thermography, operando optical emission spectroscopy, and numerical simulation are combined to investigate the influence of the surface thermal field during low-pressure radio-frequency capacitively coupled nitrogen plasma under different initial temperatures. The results show that the surface thermal field affects the temperature response of the discharge process, the distribution of characteristic spectral features, and the evolution of nitrogen-containing active species, indicating that it is an important factor in regulating the discharge characteristics of low-pressure nitrogen plasma.