Study of an electric-discharge molecular fluorine VUV laser

The effect of the discharge voltage, composition and pressure of the He–F₂ gas mixture on the output radiation parameters of a VUV F₂ laser is studied. It is shown that reaction of dissociative attachment of electrons to fluorine molecules plays a significant role in the process of active medium excitation. The condition for choosing the optimal mixture composition is determined. The use of a pump generator with multistage magnetic compression of high-voltage pulses and preionisation system with a barrier discharge at the surface of a ceramic tube ensures a high homogeneity of the gas discharge (without cathode spots). A small-size 2.5-mJ F₂ laser (with an active volume of ~9 cm³) with a pulse repetition rate of up to 1 kHz operating on a He–F₂ mixture at a pressure of up to 3500 mbar is developed.