High-power laser of 270-liter active volume utilizing infrared transitions in xenon

A high-power Ar–Xe laser (λ= 1.73μ) was pumped by an electron beam alone (j~1A/cm²) and by a combination of an electron beam and an electric field acting on a large volume (30×30×300 cm). An output energy Eout≈9.5J was obtained for the beam pumping (pulse duration τ_0.5≈2.1/μsec) and Eout=11.5J for the combined pumping. The efficiency, measured relative to the energy deposited by an electron beam, was 0.4%. It was found that additional pumping by an electric field became significant at the onset of nonthermal ionization of the medium and electron multiplication.