Spectroscopic temperature measurements in a microwave discharge

We report temperature measurements in a low-pressure hydrogen microwave plasma. Translational temperatures both of H and of (using Doppler broadening), as well as the rotational temperature of , are simultaneously determined. It is first shown that the rotational temperature of the excited state is not in equilibrium with the translational temperatures of the neutral particles. Then, using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer, we show that the H atom kinetic temperature is higher than the one. This result is interpreted in considering the mechanisms of relaxation of the hot H atoms, produced by electron impact dissociation of , in the molecules and on the tube walls.