Effects of synchronization of laser induced fluorescence and corona induced fluorescence in a pulsed corona reactor

Corona-induced fluorescence (CIF) of nitric oxide (NO) reveals that NO(A/sup 2//spl Sigma//sup +/) is primarily excited through N/sub 2/(A/sup 3//spl Sigma//sub u//sup +/) produced in a pulsed corona rector (PCR). The charge voltage in PCR, the time delay of the high-voltage pulse applied to the reactor, and its time jitter vary from gas composition to gas composition. This is because the reactor electric equivalent resistance in an OFF state has different values for different gas components. The PCR pulse jitter, typically a few tenths of a microsecond, for the same gas composition, varies with the frequency of high-voltage pulses due to changes in feed composition. A precise time synchronization of CIF with the laser induced fluorescence (LIF), the intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) detector and the PCR pulse reveals that NO molecules stay in the vibrational levels of the ground state for about 700 /spl mu/s.