Optical energy extraction from electron-beam-initiated H2–F2 mixtures

Abstract

An oscillator, based on electric discharge in an SF₆‐H₂ mixture and yielding 400‐nsec pulses, was used to probe an HF amplifying medium produced by electron‐beam initiation of H₂‐F₂ mixtures. The oscillator produced 17 lines of the P₁, P₂, and P₃ transitions. The oscillator power density at the input to the amplifier was about 2×10⁴ W/cm² at the time the H₂‐F₂ mixture was initiated. The power gain of the amplifier was estimated to be 500. Results indicate that with 17 lines from the v′=1, v′=2, and v′=3 vibrational levels of HF, about 6% of the generated energy can be extracted by the oscillator beam. The results of the experiment have also beem compared with a model calculation.