Radio frequency emission from high-pressure xenon arcs: A systematic experimental analysis of the underlying near-anode plasma instability

Abstract

High-pressure Xe discharge lamps at DC operation can show unwanted strong RF (radio-frequency) emission to beyond 1 GHz, correlated to a sharp periodic lamp-voltage instability in the near-anode plasma with a pulse repetition rate ε of 1–10 MHz. The physical origin of the instability is unclear. Here, its existence and pulse rate have been measured as a function of arc current I = 0.2–1.2 A and anode temperature Ta = 1700–3400 K independently, in experimental lamps with pure-tungsten electrodes and a Xe operating pressure around p = 10 MPa. Surprisingly, the instability is not affected by I or current density j but exists if Ta is lower than a threshold value around 2800–2900 K. The pulse rate ε is simply a rising linear function of the inverse anode temperature 1/Ta, with only a small I-dependent correction. The average anode heat load is slightly lower in the unstable regime and possibly depends on ε. The results allow a consistent re-interpretation of earlier and present experimental observations and should be both a valuable help in practical lamp engineering and a tight constraint for future theories of this effect.