Radiation emitted by mixtures of rare gases with hydrogen excited by an electron beam

An experimental investigation was made of the radiation emitted by R–H₂ mixtures (R = He, Kr, Ne, Ar, Xe)excitedby abeam E ~ 150 keV electrons with a current density j~40 A/cm². When the ratio of the components was Ar:H₂ ≈ 100:1 and the argon pressure was ~ 1–3 atm, a new wide band was discovered in the range 240–430 nm and it was attributed to the ArH* molecule. The transition responsible for this band could in principle be used for the purpose of amplification.