The presented sensor for neutral oxygen atom measurement in oxygen plasma is a catalytic probe which uses fiber optics and infrared detection system to measure the gray body radiation of the catalyst. The density of neutral atoms can be determined from the temperature curve of the probe, because the catalyst is heated predominantly by the dissipation of energy caused by the heterogeneous surface recombination of neutral atoms. The advantages of this sensor are that it is simple, reliable, easy to use, noninvasive, quantitative and can be used in plasma discharge regions. By using different catalyst materials the sensor can also be applied for detection of neutral atoms in other plasmas. Sensor design, operation, example measurements and new measurement procedure for systematic characterization are presented.
Keywords: atom measurement; fiber optic catalytic probe; oxygen plasma; plasma probes.