Chemical HF laser initiated by an excimer XeCl laser

Measurements were made of the energy and time characteristics of a chemical HF laser initiated by radiation from an excimer XeCl laser (λ = 308 nm). Various compositions of the mixture in the chemical laser were employed. When the mixture composition was F₂:H₂:O₂:He = 10:3.25:1:36 the efficiency (measured relative to the energy deposited in the active region of the HF laser) was ~ 550% when the initial concentration of the F atoms was ~ 5×10¹⁵ cm^–3. The degree of initiation and the efficiency were deduced from the experimental measurements of the energy of the excimer laser beam absorbed in the active region of the chemical laser.