OH density measurement by time-resolved broad band absorption spectroscopy in an Ar-H2O dielectric barrier discharge

We report results of a novel time-resolved broad-band absorption spectroscopy experiment for OH density measurement applied to a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in Ar/H2O mixtures. The measurement is aimed at the calibration of our previous OH LIF measurements in the same discharge. The apparatus is simple and cheap, being based on a UV LED light source and a non-intensified, non-cooled, gateable linear CCD array as a detector. The set-up is capable of ruling out both medium/long-term drifts of the UV source and of the discharge, and discharge emission from the measurement. Performances of the set-up are discussed, together with possible improvements for its use as a standalone technique.