Emission characteristics of mixed gas plasmas in low-pressure glow discharges

Glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) with mixed plasma gases is reviewed. The major topic is the effect of type and content of gases added to an argon plasma on the emission characteristics as well as the excitation processes. Emphasis is placed on argon-helium, argon-oxygen, and argon-nitrogen mixed gas plasmas. Results for non-argon-matrix plasmas, such as neon-helium and nitrogen-helium mixtures, are also presented. Apart from the GD-OES, glow discharge mass spectrometry and furnace atomization plasma emission spectrometry with mixed plasma gases are also discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.