text: One of the widely used ways to excite emission of excimer molecules is an electric discharge. There are a lot of discharge types used for pumping excimer lamps. Some examples are glow discharge, pulsed discharge, capacitive discharge, longitudinal and transverse discharges, volume discharge, spark discharge, and microhollow discharge.
  , dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), a type of capacitive discharge, is the most common type used in commercial lamps. A benefit of the DBD excimer lamps is that the electrodes are not in direct contact with the active medium (plasma). Absence of interaction between the electrodes and the discharge eliminates electrode corrosion as well as contamination of the active medium by sputtered electrode material, which considerably increases the lifetime of DBD excimer lamps in comparison with others. Moreover, a dielectric barrier discharge ensures effective excitation of a gas mixture in a wide range of working pressures from a few torrs to more than one atmosphere. Excimer lamps can be made in any desired shape of the radiating surface, satisfying requirements of a specific task.