Efficient emission from an He — Xe — NF3 mixture pumped by a glow discharge

An investigation was made of the emission of radiation by Xe — NF₃ and He — Xe — NF₃ mixtures pumped by a low-pressure glow discharge. The average output power of the 350 nm radiation was up to 20 W for a discharge tube 40 cm long with an inner diameter 9 mm. The efficiency calculated on the basis of the deposited energy was up to 6%. A qualitative analysis was made of the kinetic processes occurring under these conditions.