A pulsed-periodic low-pressure volume discharge in a krypton-chlorine gas mixture

Abstract

The initiation conditions and characteristics of a volume discharge in a krypton-chlorine mixture at low pressures (P≤1.0 kPa) were studied. It is shown that a constant voltage of Uch 1.0 kV applied to a spherical anode-flat cathode system gives rise to a pulsed-periodic discharge with a pulse repetition rate of 1–50 kHz. The current-voltage characteristics of the discharge, the spectra of emission in a wavelength interval of Δ λ=130–350 nm, and oscillograms of the current and the total output emission intensity were studied as dependent on the partial composition and pressure of the krypton-chlorine mixture. It is shown that the discharge is a selective source of emission in the electronic-vibrational bands with λ=257 nm [Cl2(D′-A′)], 222 nm [KrCl(B-X)], and 200 nm [C12**]. The volume discharge in the Kr-Cl2 mixture can be used for the development of pulsed-periodic low-pressure excimer-halogen lamps.