  This work presents a few preliminary results from a collisional-radiative
(CR) model intended to describe an argon microwave (2.45 GHz) plasma at
atmospheric pressure. This model aims to investigate the influence of
dissociative recombination products on the Saha-Boltzmann plasma equilibrium.
The model is tested through comparison with experimental results obtained in an
argon plasma column generated by a traveling electromagnetic surface-wave,
which is suitable to perform a parametric investigation of the plasma. It is
shown that dissociative recombination predominantly populates the 4s levels and
the ground state. It is further observed that it strongly influences the
population of the levels, specially those of lower energy. However, the higher
levels (close to the ionization limit) appear to be in equilibrium whatever the
plasma density. This allows assuming that the excitation temperature Texc
determined from the upper levels in the atomic system in the Boltzmann-plot is
equal to Te.
