25 W of average power at 172 nm in the vacuum ultraviolet from flat, efficient lamps driven by interlaced arrays of microcavity plasmas

More than 25 W of average power and >800 W of peak power have been generated at λ=172 nm (hν=7.2 eV) in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) from the Xe₂ molecule in flat, 10 × 10 cm² lamps having an active area and volume of 80 cm² and <60 cm³, respectively. Powered by at least two interlaced arrays of microplasmas generated within cavities fabricated into an interior surface of the <6 mm thick lamp, these lamps have an electrical-to-optical conversion efficiency >20%. For a bipolar voltage waveform driving frequency of 137 kHz and a 54% Xe/Ne gas fill mixture at a 300 K pressure of 550 Torr, the lamp generates as much as 31.5 W of average power and intensities >350 mW cm^-2 in 40-60 μJ, 70±10 ns FWHM pulses produced in a burst mode-four pulses of 600-850 W peak power in every cycle of the driving waveform. The lamp intensity is uniform to within ±2.5% at ≥10 mm from its surface and average power varies linearly with pulse repetition frequency throughout the 18-135 kHz interval. The spectral breadth of the Xe dimer emission is ∼9 nm FWHM and time-resolved, spatial intensity maps show improved utilization of the power pulse (V I) with two or more microcavity arrays that are interleaved. This photonic source technology is capable of generating unprecedented power levels in the VUV spectral region (e.g., ∼2.5 kW m^-2) with tiled lamps.