Computer-aided reduction of plasma data

Poor signal-to-noise ratios and the nonlinear characteristics of the data obtained by most plasma diagnostic equipment makes computer-aided data handling a desirable feature in plasma laboratories. The Lecroy 3500-SA32 signal analyzer is used as the data handling system in this work. The performance of the Lecroy 3500-SA32 signal analyzer, used for recording and reducing plasma data under the noisy environment of the laboratory, is reported. The data characteristics and software programs are discussed for three types of plasma diagnostic equipment: (1) Langrauir Probes; (2) Charge Exchange Neutral Energy Analyzers; (3) Retarding Potential Energy Analyzers. Three computer programs in FORTRAN 80 are included which obtain an iterated best fit of experimental data to the corresponding analytical expressions for each case. Plasma parameters such as ion kinetic temperature, electron kinetic temperature, electron number density, plasma potential, etc. are available on a real-time basis.