Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Oxidation Of Thin Silver Films By Ozone And Atomic Oxygen, Lawrence R. Thorne

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Recently, thin silver film detectors have been used to determine atomic oxygen profiles in the 70-100 km region of the upper atmosphere. The detectors' sensitivity to atomic oxygen is the result of the formation of silver oxide(s) which cause their electrical resistance to increase. A common procedure to calibrate and to make these detectors more sensitive is to cycle them through a series of three or more oxidations and reductions. This paper indicates that this cycling makes silver films more sensitive to ozone, causing them to be usable only at heights greater than 38 km. Also reported herein are experimentally …