Molecular-ion continua of the radiation emitted by rare gas plasmas

An investigation was made of the spectral and temporal characteristics of t he continua of the radiation emitted by molecular ions in krypton, argon, a nd xenon excited by an electron beam and by x-ray pulses. An analysis was m ade of the dependences of the positions and relative intensities of local m axima of the rare-gas continua on the pressure, and on the pumping method a nd power. The role of transitions of dimer and trimer molecular ions in the generation of broad-band radiation was also considered. It was found that, under the investigated conditions, the properties of these continua we ind ependent of the method of pumping by a hard ioniser, but are determined sol ely by the nature and pressure of the gas. It was shown that lasing as a re sult of transitions in molecular ions is most probable in the case of diato mic ions which as a rule have narrower individuals bands. For this purpose it is preferable to use high-density and short-duration electron-beam pulse s with a rapid decay of the current.