High-power xenon fluoride laser

Abstract

High-power laser emission has been observed from xenon fluoride (XeF) at 351.1 and 353.1 nm. A peak laser power of 0.5 MW was obtained by using a mixture of Ar, Xe, and NF3 in the ratio of 250 : 25 : 1 at a total pressure of 1.7 atm. The laser gas was excited by a 1-MeV 20-kA electron beam for a pulse duration of 20 nsec. Energy deposited in the gas by the electron beam was estimated to be 1 J which gives a laser efficiency of 0.5%. Using a coaxial electron gun, an 80-mJ 100-nsec pulse was obtained with an efficiency of 3%.