Data array acquisition and joint processing in local plasma spectroscopy

The setup and software for optical emission spectroscopy with spatial and temporal resolutions were developed. The automated installation includes LabView compatible instrument interfaces. The algorithm of joint data processing is based on principal component method and allows the increase in stability of results of the radial transform and the instrument distortion elimination in the presence of noises. The system is applied to diagnostics of the arc discharge in mercury vapors with the addition of thallium. The distributions of ground state and excited mercury atoms, excited thallium atoms and electron density over the arc cross section have been measured on the basis of analysis of spectral line shapes. The Saha balance between electron and high lying excited states densities was checked. An unexpected broadening of some thallium spectral lines was found out.