Multi-wavelength excimer ultraviolet sources from a mixture of krypton andiodine in a dielectric barrier discharge

New ultraviolet (UV) sources (excimer lamps) have been demonstrated using m ixtures of krypton and iodine in a high-pressure dielectric barrier dischar ge to provide intense multi-wavelength radiation at lambda = 183 nm (atomic iodine line, P-4(5/2) --> P-2(3/2)) 191 nm (KrI*, B-1/2 --> X-1/2), 206 nm (atomic iodine line, P-2(3/2) --> P-2(1/2)), and 342 nm (I-2*, D-1/2 --> X -1/2) The characteristics of the optical emission spectra of the atomic spe cies and the excited dimers (excimers) formed for different total gas press ures and in the presence of a buffer gas have been investigated. The highes t intensity, at 183 nm, is obtained at pressures up to 1 bar while the over all emission spectra can be controlled by adjusting the total pressure. The results show that these strong multiwavelength lamps offer an interesting alternative to conventional UV sources.