Pulsed lasers on plasmas produced by electron beams and discharges

The use of electron beams for pumping dense gases made it possible to obtain lasing on atomic and molecular transitions in different spectral ranges and to develop high-power pulsed lasers. N.G. Basov and coworkers made a substantial contribution to the formation and advancement of this field. A brief review of the research on efficient elevated-pressure active media and high-power pulsed lasers utilising plasmas produced both by an electron beam and an electron-beam-controlled discharge is presented. These are excimer and exciplex lasers, lasers utilising atomic transitions in xenon and neon, an Ar –N₂ mixture laser, a molecular nitrogen ion laser, and a high-pressure CO₂ laser. Data obtained in the investigation of the radiation of rare-gas halide complexes are given.