Diagnostics of an electric-discharge KrCl laser

The active medium of an electric-discharge KrCl laser was investigated by the method of absorption probing with a dye laser. The absolute concentrations and the time dependences of the properties were determined for some components of the active medium of the KrCl laser: Kr*, Cl*, H*, Kr₂⁺, Cl ^–, and KrCl*. The gain and absorption were measured in the range 220–230 nm. A comparison was made between the active medium parameters of the KrCl laser and the corresponding parameters of an XeCl laser, obtained under the same excitation conditions. The reasons for the low efficiency of the KrCl laser are discussed.