Xenon fluoride laser excitation by transverse electric discharge

Abstract

Stimulated emission has been produced in mixtures of He, NF₃, and Xe at total pressures between 300 and 1000 Torr. Laser emission was on lines at 3511 and 3531 Å which have been associated with the excited XeF molecule. Excitation of the gas mixture was by a transverse electric discharge which produced pulses with peak currents of approximately 10⁴ A and rise times of 20 ns. A maximum laser energy of 7 mJ was obtained from a gas mixture with a ratio of He:Xe:NF₃ of 98.0:1.5:0.5 at a total pressure of 300 Torr.