Effects of gas temperature and electron temperature on species concentration of air plasmas

The applications of atmospheric pressure air plasma, such as absorption and reflection of electromagnetic radiation, require an electron density of 1012cm−3 or higher. To achieve the required electron density, the electron temperature needs to reach certain level for a given gas temperature. In this manuscript, to obtain an electron density of 1012cm−3 in one atmospheric pressure air, the required electron temperatures are studied for the given gas temperatures from 500to2000K. It is found that the required electron temperatures decrease dramatically from 15310to11750K when the gas temperature increases from 500to1000K, but further increase the gas temperature to 2000K; the electron temperature of 11315K is still needed to achieve an electron density of 1012cm−3.