The characteristics of a negative corona discharge in He/Xe/SF6 mixture

The results of investigation of the electrical and optical characteristics of a negative corona discharge in the electrode system of the type needle-grid lit in a He/Xe/SF₆ mixture under the pressure of 100–300 kPa are presented in this paper. The given medium is working for a pulse-periodic excimer lamp on = 351 nm XeF(B–X). Distributed on the length of a lamp active media a bipolar corona discharge is intended for using in the electric circulation of the XeF-lamp working medium. It is shown that the given discharge is ignited steadily in the He/Xe/SF₆ mixture, containing 0, 5kPa SF₆ molecules and is characterised by a low power consumption; the current of the discharge is limited to the development of instability by increasing the voltage on the needles; in hot zones of corona discharge SF₆ molecules cause the effective population 6s of XeI state.     

Peculiarities of KrF excimer vibrational relaxation in low-pressure Kr/F2 mixtures excited by a short pulse

The importance of excimer vibrational relaxation is manifested once again by the example of the low-pressure Kr/F₂ gain medium excited by a short pulse. The pressure is determined at which a sharp fall of the population efficiency of low KrF(B) vibrational levels should appear. Time peculiarities of the gain are investigated analytically for short-pulse excitation operation.     

Spectroscopic investigation of the plasma of a high-current diffuse discharge in He/Ar/CF2Cl2(CCl4) mixtures

Survey emission spectra in the region of 190–600 nm and time and service-life characteristics of a transverse nanosecond discharge in He/Ar/CF₂Cl₂(CCl₄) mixtures at a pressure of 10–100 kPa are investigated. In the emission spectra, excited products of the decomposition of freons—C₂(A−X), CN(B−X), Cl ₂ ^* , C^*, Cl^*, and Cl^+*— and the emission of ArF at λ=193 nm are revealed. The emissions of Cl ₂ ^* at λ=258 nm and ArF at λ=193 nm were the most intense. The discharge in the He/Ar/CF₂Cl₂ mixture is a multiwave emission source with λ=258 nm Cl ₂ ^* 193 nm ArF, and probably, 175 nm Arcl. It is of interest for applications in UV-VUV-range pulse photometry. The duration of the emission on Cl ₂ ^* , ArF, ArI, ClI, and ClII transitions in the discharge in the Ar/CF₂Cl₂ mixture (P=10–20 kPa) was 200–300 nsec. With adding He and increasing pressure to 100 kPa the duration of the emission decreased by a factor of 1.5–2. The basic mechanisms of the formation of Cl₂, ArF, and CN(B) molecules in the transverse-discharge plasma are considered. Uzhgorod State University, 46, Pidgirna Str., Uzhgorod, 294000, Ukraine. Translated from Zhurnal. Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 66, No. 2, pp. 241–246, March–April, 1999.     

Multiphoton mass spectra of Xe2 molecules in the range of excited Xe*(6p, 5d) atoms

The (2 + 1) photoionization mass spectra of Xe₂ molecules are studied in a supersonic jet upon excitation by laser radiation in the energy range 80321.3–77821 cm^?1, corresponding to the dissociation of the Xe₂ molecule into atoms Xe(¹ S ₀) + Xe*(6p, 5d). Several vibrational progressions are observed, which are attributed to two-photon transitions of Xe₂ from the ground state to the excited states of the O ⁺ _g, 1_g, and 2_g symmetries. Based on the analysis of these progressions, the molecular constants of a number of excited states of Xe₂ are estimated.     

Disintegration of Ar N,Kr N,and (N2) N clusters during collisions with highly vibrationally excited SF6 molecules

It is shown that, when highly vibrationally excited SF₆ molecules (with vibrational energy E _vib ≥ 0.5–2 eV) collide with weakly bound van der Waals Ar _N , Kr _N , or (N₂) _N (N ≤ 30–40 atoms in a cluster) clusters in intersecting molecular and cluster beams, the molecules are trapped by the clusters, the clusters then undergo full disintegration, and the trapped molecules become free. The method of studying this process and the results obtained are described. The possibilities of application of this method for selective doping of clusters by molecules, laser separation of isotopes, and selective transportation of molecules to a surface are discussed.     

Multi-band spectral structure and kinetics of the third continua in Ar,Kr and Xe gases excited by a pulsed discharge

Time-resolved VUV-UV emission of Ar, Kr, and Xe gases (Rg), excited by a pulsed discharge, have been measured to clarify the origin of the 3rd continua. Several detected continuum bands exhibit very different time behaviors due to various atomic (ionic) precursors and plasma kinetics. Imaging experiments with ns-gated ICCD camera have shown that the 2nd continua (Rg₂^*) and Rg^* lines emit uniformly in the positive column of the discharge. However, the 3rd continua and Rg^+* lines were excited exclusively in the negative glow zone, where high-energy electrons are injected from the cathode layer. The multi-band structure of the 3rd continua has been connected with Rg²⁺ ions produced in the ground and different excited states. These precursors lead to the formation of several bound states Rg₂^2+*, which decay radiatively to the repulsive states (Rg⁺ + Rg⁺), where Rg⁺ ions can be on ²P_3/2, ²P_1/2 levels due to spin-orbit coupling. The rate constants for the formation of Rg₂²⁺ excimers in three-body reaction and two-body collisional quenching of Rg^2+∗ ions have been determined from the time behaviors of emission. The quenching of Rg^2+∗ ions is explained by the level crossing between bound (Rg^2+* + Rg) and repulsive (Rg²⁺ + Rg) potential curves.     

The first Trichel pulse of negative corona discharge in N2 with a small admixture of SF6

Current growth waveforms of transient negative point-to-plane discharge in N₂ and in N₂ with 0·025-0·1% admixture of SF₆ at a pressure of 40 kPa have been measured and compared. The transient glow discharge regime in pure N₂ was found to be preceded by a peaked current signal of conspicuous similarity to the first Trichel pulse rise and its initial decay in N₂+SF₆ mixture. The results are in a basic agreement with a hypothesis on streamer mechanism for Trichel pulse and indicate occurrence of field emission during the rise of Trichel pulse current.     

Comparison of the first negative corona current pulses in N2 + SF6 and CO2 + SF6 mixtures

The current waveforms of the first negative corona pulses in a small point-to-plane gap have been measured with a nanosecond time resolution in N₂ + SF₆ and CO₂ + SF₆ mixtures at a pressure 50 kPa for various contents of SF₆ as a function of applied gap voltages. The physical mechanism for the pulses in these mixtures with low concentration of SF₆ has been described using the streamer-based theory. The influence of changing admixtures of SF₆ in N₂ and CO₂ has been compared. Differences in the pulse waveforms observed in N₂- and CO₂-based gas mixtures are explained by differences in the first and second Townsend ionization coefficients. This work was supported by the Grant Agency VEGA from the Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic under contracts 1/1011/04 and 1/2017/05.     

Characteristic of a negative corona discharge in active media of Xe(6p−5d) and eximer lasers

The article contains results of a study of electric and optical characteristics of a negative corona discharge in a “needles-grid” electrode system in the mixtures He/Xe and He/Xe(Kr)/HCl, which are used in periodic pulsed electric-discharge Xe(6p−5d), XeCl, and KrCl lasers. The corona discharge was ignited in a multielectrode system whose length is commensurable with the length of the active medium of the lasers. Voltage-current characteristics, radiation spectra of the discharge plasma, and the dependences of the radiation intensity of atomic spectral lines and the band λ=308 nm of XeCl (B-X) on parameters of the corona discharge are studied. For the mixture He/Xe the corona discharge exists as a spatially homogeneous discharge that is intermediate between corona and glow discharges and is transformed into an anode streamer at higher charge voltages. Collisional purification of the 6p states of the Xe atom by helium was observed. In the mixture He/Xe/HCl the corona discharge is ignited in the form of individual generation zones and a dark external region and can be used in electric systems for pumping the active media of XeCl and KrCl lasers. Uzhgorod State University, 46, Pidgirna St., Uzhgorod, 294000, Ukraine. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 2, pp. 205–210, March–April, 1998.     

The concentration of excited Ne atoms in a hollow-cathode discharge in He-Ne

The absolute populations of Ne levels have been measured spectroscopically for gas pressures of 0.1–8.0 mm Hg.I am indebtedto V. P. Chebotaev for direction in this work and to I. M. Beterov for collaboration in deriving the ratio of the probabilities for the 6328 and 6096 Å lines.     

Radiation spectra of a spark discharge in mixtures of inert gases with HCl and SF6

Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 556–559, April, 1989.     

Trapping of ultracold atoms in a 3He/4He dilution refrigerator

We describe the preparation of ultracold atomic clouds in a dilution refrigerator. The closed-cycle ³He/⁴He cryostat was custom made to provide optical access for laser cooling, optical manipulation and detection of atoms. We show that the cryostat meets the requirements for cold atom experiments, specifically in terms of operating a magneto-optical trap, magnetic traps and magnetic transport under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The presented system is a step toward the creation of a quantum hybrid system combining ultracold atoms and solid-state quantum devices.     

Spectral and energetic characteristics of passing vibrationally excited SF6 molecules through a cooled multichannel plate

We study the spectral and energetic characteristics of SF₆ molecules excited in a pulsed molecular beam by intense IR laser radiation into high-lying vibrational states (with the energy E _v ≥ 0.3–2.0 eV) that pass through a multichannel metal plate that is cooled to T _s ? 80–85 K and is inclined to the beam axis. From comparison of the measured characteristics with the spectral and energetic characteristics of the IR multiphoton absorption of these molecules, we find that they correlate rather well with each other. The results obtained allow us to conclude that, due to different probabilities of passing vibrationally excited and unexcited molecules through the multichannel plate, it is possible to separate molecules in the beam with respect to their isotopic (component) composition.     

Theory of positive corona in SF6 due to a voltageimpulse

A theoretical examination is made of the mechanism of corona formation for a positive point-plane gap in SF₆ at 100 kPa. The impulse voltage applied has a rise time of 15 ns and peak value of 200 kV. Seed electrons are released 1 ns after the start of the voltage rise. For a 0.5-cm diameter positive sphere located 6.5 cm from a negative plane, the calculated circuit current initially consists of subnanosecond corona onset pulses, and then the current steadily rises to a maximum, as the voltage reaches a maximum, followed by a rapid fall in current. During the current rise a streamer moves out into the gap along a 100-μm channel, with the electric field in the streamer trail E>E*, where E* is the critical field where ionization equals attachment. The light output during the discharge is predicted to be a maximum at the anode with only a minor pulse of light at the streamer head, making it hard to detect. After the current maximum, recombination rapidly reduces the numbers of positive ions, negative ions, and electrons, but the net charge density remains constant and thus so does the electric field. The electric field is E~E* in the streamer trail, but has a sharp maximum, E≫E* at the head of the streamer trail. The origin of mid-gap precursors, observed when the streamer channel reilluminates after some 100 ns, is attributed to this field maximum in the remnant electric field. The evolution of positive ions, negative ions, and electrons is described by one-dimensional continuity equations, with the space-charge electric fields determined by the disk method. The effects of ionization, attachment, recombination, electron diffusion, and photoionization are all included. New numerical methods allow resolution of the streamer head and the anode fall region to be obtained with a 1-μm mesh, while following the streamer propagation for ~2 cm