Influence of the Bulb Geometry and Electrical Supply Parameters on the UV Emission of DBD Excimer Lamps

The aim of this article is to improve the performance of DBD excimer lamps systems for UV production. Within this framework, our approach considers two distinct directions: the geometric dimensions of the double-barrier lamp bulb and the characteristics of the power supply. To explore these directions, a sampling of 19 bulbs of different geometries is considered, and a specially designed power supply is used, capable of controlling the shape (duration and magnitude) and frequency of current pulses injected into the plasma. A dedicated test bench, including a supervisory program that drives the power supply and collects system performance data, is used to perform parametric sweeps and guarantee measurement repeatability: the set of electrical parameters is fully explored for each lamp, and each experiment is characterized by UV emission performance and electrical generator operating conditions. Multiquadric response surfaces, used to format the results of this multi-variable exploration, reveal the most efficient directions for system optimization: increasing gas volume and, at a given operating frequency, providing the shortest possible current pulses with high amplitude can increase both UV emission and conversion efficiency.