Wide Emission Bands of Plasma of a Sub-Nanosecond Discharge in Xenon and Inaccuracies in Their Measurements

The parameters of a discharge in xenon formed by voltage pulses with a duration at half-maximum of 0.7 ns were studied. It has been confirmed that at the stage of the formation of the diffuse discharge, the most intense radiation in the 120–800-nm region is concentrated in the band with a maximum at the wavelength of 172 nm (the second continuum of xenon dimers). It was found that recombination continua appear after the discharge contraction, which occurs faster with a decrease in the interelectrode distance or an increase in the input energy. It is shown that the Xe $_{2}^\ast $ radiation pulse duration at gas pressures of 0.3–3 atm significantly exceeds the duration of the incident voltage pulse. In their articles, Baryshnikov and Paperny claim that there is no radiation of the second continuum in a diffuse discharge plasma of xenon. Thus, the results obtained indicate that the data given in these articles require additional verification of the measuring techniques of VUV radiation, as well as, the voltage across the gap and discharge current.