Comparative studies of the laser Thomson scattering and Langmuir probe methods for measurements of negative ion density in a glow discharge plasma

The newly developed method of the negative ion density measurement in a plasma by laser Thomson scattering (LTS) was checked by comparing the obtained results against an independent technique, namely the Langmuir probe method. Both measurements were performed at the same position of the same inductively coupled plasma. The results agree quite well with each other and this has given confidence in the LTS method of negative ion density measurement. At the same time, both methods are complementary to each other, because the Langmuir probe measurement requires knowledge of the positive ion mass number.