Continuum absorption coefficient in SF6and SF6-N2mixture plasmas

The computation of continuous absorption coefficient for SF 6 plasmas has been carried out taking into account free-free radiation, using the scaled Thomas-Fermi potential for the determination of the terms resulting from the radiative recombination. The authors have computed the continuum absorption coefficient K' in SF 6 -N 2 mixtures (for pressure values between 1 and 8 bar, in the temperature range 8000 to 24000 K) assuming that the plasma is in local thermodynamic equilibrium, by combining their results obtained in the case of SF 6 with those concerning N 2 from the literature. The evolution of K' with nu is explained in terms of electronic configuration of the species and of the variations of electron and ion densities with pressure, temperature and SF 6 proportion.