The role of atomic processes in the formation of rare-gas excimers in a supersonic discharge

The formation of rare-gas excimers in a dc supersonic jet discharge and the resulting spectra were studied in detail. Emission spectra of He;Once the presence of rare-gas excimers was confirmed, experiments were conducted to measure effects on the spectra by optically pumping the discharge with laser radiation tuned to atomic transitions in the 2p;Rate equations were developed to explain the intensity changes of the atomic resonance lines and excimer bands caused by optical pumping. A comparison of calculated and experimental results showed that collisional mixing between atoms in the 1s...