High-brightness pulse-periodic ultraviolet radiation source utilizing a linearly stabilized surface discharge

A new method is proposed for initiating long ($\gtrsim0.5$ m) spark discharges over the surface of an insulator: it does not require the use of "hard" electrical circuits (i.e., having a high $U_0/L_0$ value) or high operating and ignition voltages ($U\lesssim25$ kV), but provides temporally and spatially stable plasmas of a specified geometrical shape and, in particular, in the form of strictly linear plasma channels. An experimental investigation was made of the dynamics of formation and of the energy and spectral-brightness characteristics of high-current radiating discharges of a new type in the form of surface discharges having a linearly stabilized streamer (spark) channel. Discharges of this type can be used as high-power open sources of continuous pulse-periodic radiation of large size and having a high ($\gtrsim40$ kK) brightness temperature in the ultraviolet spectral region.