High-Current Photoemission Glow Discharge in a Xe–Cs Mixture

An unusual glow discharge has been discovered in a Xe+Cs mixture. Its burning voltage is several times lower and the current density is 1–2 orders higher than the normal voltage and current of a regular glow discharge in pure xenon and cesium, respectively. These discharges occur in cesium lighting lamps of a pulse-periodic discharge when they are heated by the alternating voltage before applying high-current operating pulses at a xenon pressure of 20 Torr and a wide range of cesium pressures (10–6–1) Torr. The most probable origin of their occurrence is photoemission from W–Th–Cs structures on the electrodes under the impact of intense UV radiation of the cathode layer.