AN INTERPRETATION OF NEI(5S1-2P4) OPTOGALVANIC SIGNAL IN A HOLLOW-CATHODE DISCHARGE

This work analyses formation of the optogalvanic signal for NeI(5s1-2p 4) optical transition by using data obtained from direct measurements of the electron temperatures and concentrations and from an estimation of the frequencies of electron-atom and electron-ion collisions. Our results show negligible contribution of the electron temperature chang e to the measured optogalvanic signal. Therefore, the appearance of th e optogalvanic signal may be attributed to the increased electron conc entration (due to the enhanced ionization from 5s1 Ne atomic level) un der resonant laser illumination.