Discharge transitions between glow-like and filamentary in a xenon/chlorine-filled barrier discharge lamp

Abstract

An asymmetric electric voltage pulse source (2–20 kHz, Vp–p: 0–20 kV) was applied to stimulate excimer radiation by a dielectric barrier discharge in a binary gas mixture of chlorine (10.8 Torr)/xenon at high pressure (∼460 Torr). When the source frequency increases continuously from 2.0 to 12.0 kHz or in reverse under a fixed output voltage of Vp–p (13.8 kV), it is observed that the discharge modes excited by this pulse source transmit between glow-like and filamentary, and we observe a mixed mode with filaments randomly distributed in the diffuse-like background in the narrow frequency range 7.0–8.0 kHz. It is argued that the reasons for the discharge transition could be the frequency and the time derivative of the voltage waveform of the power source. It is also observed that there is an obvious difference in the emission spectral profiles and the energy efficiency of excimer emission for the two discharge modes.