Properties of a glow discharge lamp of the Grimm type

This work describes a glow discharge lamp of the Grimm type. The lamp proved to be stable for periods up to about 2 hours. The intensity to background ratio of the Cu I 237.4 nm line from a brass target was found to be 200. Analysis of the experimental results showed that the discharge potential depends on the discharge current through a power law $(V=Ki^S)$. K and S are also power functions of the pressure P. Intensity was measured as a function of the lamp operating parameters (V, i, and P). Self-absorption was shown to be insignificant. The sputtering rate Q was found to vary with the lamp power W=Vi, Q=C Wm where C and m are constants.