Gas temperature determination of an AC arc discharge at atmospheric pressure in air using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer

To determine the gas temperature of an alternating current (ac) (50 kHz) arc discharge at atmospheric pressure in air, a Mach-Zehnder type interferometer was built, utilizing an He-Ne ([lambda] = 6328 [Angstrom]) laser source with vertical polarization and a power of 5 mW. Upon introducing the arc discharge into one of the interferometer arms, a displacement of interference fringes takes place with respect to its position without the discharge. Keeping in mind that displacement of the fringes is related to the difference of the optical path with the variation of the refraction index and with temperature change in the discharge zone; the latter was determined from the displacements of the interference fringes. At the center of the discharge channel, a temperature near 3000 K was calculated, diminishing gradually to room temperature toward the discharge borders. This temperature value at the center of the channel agrees with results previously reported in similar discharges. This is an alternate method for the diagnosis of plasma parameters used in the production and treatment of materials. Index Terms--Arc discharge, optical interference, plasma diagnostics.