Measurement of electron-impact excitation cross sections out of the neon ³P₂ metastable level

We have measured cross sections for the electron-impact excitation out of the metastable levels of neon into the ten levels of the 2p⁵3p configuration. Two sources of metastable neon atoms were used, a hollow-cathode discharge and a fast beam formed via near-resonant charge exchange. Both sources produce a mixed target of Ne in both (³P₀ and ³P₂) metastable levels. For the 2p⁵3p excited levels with J=2 or J=3, the excitation is dominated by excitation from the ³P₂ level, and we present cross sections over the energy range of 0 to 450 eV. The results are compared with the cross sections for excitation out of the metastable levels of argon and the applications to diagnostics of ionized gas systems are discussed.