Experimental stark widths of six UV lines of ZnII

The Stark broadening parameters of six lines of ZnII (four measured for the first time) have been experimentally determined in a plasma produced by ablation of a Cd-Zn alloy with a Nd:YAG laser and a Zn content under 10%. The broadening parameters were obtained with the target placed in molecular argon at 6 Torr, which provides appropriate measurement conditions. A Boltzmann plot was used to obtain the plasma temperature (30 400 ± 6400 K) and published values of the Stark broadening in CdII to obtain the electron density ((5.38 ± 0.54)1016 cm-3); with these values the plasma composition was determined by means of the Saha equation. The local thermodynamic equilibrium condition was checked. Contributions to broadening arising from a mechanism different from the Stark broadening as well as self-absorption influence were estimated for every studied line. A comparison is made with previous experimental values and recent theoretical estimates of the Stark broadening where possible.