Relation between the UV luminescence yield and electron drift velocity in the gaseous xenon at high electric fields

Abstract

The excitation of xenon atoms by electron impact in the gaseous xenon is studied in high electric fields in which the inelastic electron–atom collisions become the main channel of the electron energy losses. A simple diffusion model is used to determine the electron momentum distribution and the excitation rate of xenon atoms as a function of the electric field strength, E, normalised to the number density, N, of xenon atoms. The generation rate of the electron excited xenon atoms and electron drift velocity are found at the electric fields near the threshold field of the xenon atom excitation. The model agrees well with experimental data on the UV luminescence of xenon due to electron excitation and with measurements of the electron drift velocity in the range of E=N up to 10 � 15 Vc m 2 . 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.