Production of atomic nitrogen emission by electron-impact dissociative excitation of nitrogen molecules

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Abstract
Absolute optical emission cross sections for some 15 transitions in atomic nitrogen, produced by electron impact on nitrogen molecules, have been measured for incident electron energies ranging from threshold to 300 eV. The excitation functions show a broad maximum at about 85 eV and a shoulderlike structure near 35 eV. The threshold energy was found to be quite close to the energy defect of the dissociation process. Near threshold energy, an important mechanism for producing excited nitrogen atoms is beleived to be dissociative excitation through partly bound Rydberg states of N2 that are associated with the N+2 (D 2Πg) ionized state and have the appropriate dissociation limit. At energies above 50 eV, formation of N+2 in excited electronic states by simultaneous ionization and excitation with subsequent dissociation becomes a more important mechanism.