A vacuum ultraviolet source based on a sliding discharge

摘要

The paper discusses a pulsed high-current sliding discharge on a sapphire surface, used to excite gases (Ar, Kr) at a pressure of up to 25 atm. The space-time dynamics of the evolution of the sliding discharge is measured. The spectrotemporal dependence of its luminescence is analyzed, and the processes that affect the emission of the plasma in the VUV region are discussed. The possibilities of a sliding discharge for directly pumping gas lasers are demonstrated for XeCl and KrF excimer lasers with lasing energy 0.15 and 0.12 mJ, respectively, and a pulse repetition rate up to 1 kHz with no circulation of the gas.