ABSTRACT
It was previously shown that low energy (10 — 15 keV) electron beam excitation of dense gases can lead to strong light emission on atomic and molecular transitions [1]. In contrast to electrical discharges, this technique implies that the energetic electrons which excite gas atoms (or molecules) are accelerated in a separate evacuated volume and then sent into the gas cell through a thin ceramic window. This method has significant advantages such as high efficiency of the resulting light sources (35 % conversion of electron energy to light was reported for argon [t]), extremely low level of debris production in the gas cell, low gas temperature during operation and a simple way of operating the light source in both direct current and pulsed modes. Moreover, electron beams of such low energy are easily produced with very compact electron guns similar to those used in monochrome monitors.
