Design and Construciton of a Photodiode-Based Passive Spectrometer

Abstract

The use of passive spectroscopy to determine electron temperatures is well documented and has the important benefit of being noninvasive. The use of line intensities in particular is important because other spectrographic techniques, such as those based on Stark broadening or Thompson scattering, can be difficult to employ in certain situations. Here, we present a model for the estimation of electron temperature utilizing the ratio of emitted line intensities in a plasma. Details of design and construction for a photo diode based spectrometer taking advantage of this model are also presented, as well as details regarding data acquisition and analysis using this spectrometer.