VACUUM ULTRVIOLET LIGHT EMITTING DEVICE

摘要

A new device for emitting ultraviolet light, in particular, vacuum ultraviolet light, is provided in which the drawbacks of ultraviolet emitting devices currently in use, that is, the problems of large size, high electric-power consumption, short life, and unstable intensity, have been remedied. The device for emitting vacuum ultraviolet light is characterized by being equipped with: a light-emitting substrate comprising a transparent substrate constituted of lithium fluoride, magnesium fluoride, calcium fluoride, barium fluoride, or the like and, formed on the transparent substrate, a thin layer of a metal fluoride, such as LuLiF4, LaF3, BaF2, or CaF2, that has been doped with atoms of, for example, neodymium (Nd), thulium (Tm), or erbium (Er); and an electron beam source such as a thermal-electron gun or a field-emission electron gun. The device is further characterized in that the light-emitting substrate and the electron beam source are disposed in a vacuum atmosphere and that the electron beam source irradiates electron beams upon the thin metal fluoride layer to make the layer emit light containing a wavelength component of vacuum ultraviolet light.