Tunable vacuum ultraviolet laser action by argon excimers

Abstract

Vacuum ultraviolet lasing was achieved in electron-beam-pumped high-density argon gas (25–65 bars). With a diffraction grating, the argon excimer laser (126 nm) could be tuned between 123.2 and 127.4 nm. The line width of the tuned laser was 0.6 nm and the output power ∼1 kW.