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Direct-current plasma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Direct-current plasma (DCP) is a type of plasma source used for atomic emission spectroscopy that utilizes three electrodes to produce a plasma stream.[1] The most common three-electrode DCP apparatus consists of two graphite anode blocks and a tungsten cathode block arranged in an inverted-Y arrangement. An argon gas source is situated between the anode blocks and argon gas flows through the anode blocks.[1][2] The plasma stream is produced by briefly contacting the cathode with the anodes. Temperatures at the arc core exceed 8000 K.[1] This three-electrode arrangement is illustrated in Figure 1.
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