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

The initiation conditions and characteristics of a volume discharge in a krypton-chlorine mixture at low pressures (P less than or equal to 1.0 kPa) were studied. It is shown that a constant voltage of U-ch less than or equal to 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 Deltalambda = 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 lambda = 257 nm [Cl-2(D-'- A('))], 222 nm [KrCl(B-X)], and 200 nm [Cl-2(**)]. The volume discharge in the Kr-Cl-2 mixture can be used for the development of pulsed-periodic low-pressure excimer-halogen lamps. (C) 2002 MAIK "Nauka / Interperiodica".