FORMATION AND QUENCHING MECHANISMS OF THE ELECTRON-BEAM-PUMPED (XERB)+ IONIC EXCIMER IN DIFFERENT BUFFER GASES

The ionic excimer molecule XeRb+ is formed in an electron beam excited gas mixture of Xe, Rb, and a buffer gas. The formation and quenching mechanisms of ionic excimers are investigated by measuring the XeRb+ fluorescence as a function of the gas composition and gas pressure. The formation of XeRb+ is achieved by a three-body association reaction between Xe+, Rb, and a buffer gas atom. For the buffer gases He, Ne, or Ar the values of the important formation rate constants are determined from the observed fluorescence signal decay.