Components of continuum radiation in an inductively coupled plasma

Measurements of the continuum emission of an inductively coupled plasma in argon have been carried out. The mechanisms responsible for this radiation show different electron-density-dependences. By interrupting the power that is followed by a decay of the electron density, it is possible to unravel these different mechanisms. From the measurements it is concluded that the electron-atom interactions are in general of equal importance to the electron-ion interactions in creating continuum radiation. The relative contribution of the electron-atom interactions depends on the conditions of the plasma. Furthermore, the measurements show that the cross section for electron-atom momentum transfer deduced from our experiment using the formula for electron-atom free-free continuum radiation is not in agreement with the literature.