Electrical and spectral property of cold arc plasma at atmospheric pressure

Abstract An atmospheric pressure plasma jet is generated with a cold arc discharge in ambient air. The current-voltage characteristics and optical emission spectra of plasma discharges are investigated. The molecular nitrogen (N 2 ), hydroxyl radical (OH), and oxygen atom (O) are observed and analyzed. Based on the best fit of the simulated spectra of N 2 (C 3 ∏ u + − B 3 ∏ g + ) band and OH (A 2 ∑ + − X 2 ∏) band transition and the experimentally recorded spectra, the rotational temperature and the vibrational temperature of atmospheric pressure cold arc plasma jet (APCAPJ) are estimated.