Electric-discharge XeCl laser with 4% efficiency and 14 J output energy

An investigation was made of an electric-discharge XeCl laser with an active region of 5.5 cm × 7 cm × 100 cm dimensions. This laser was pumped by a voltage generator based on capacitance storage lines. A multichannel spark-discharge gap was used as a fast-response switch. An Ne — Xe — HCl working mixture was preionised with soft x-rays. When the charging voltage applied to the capacitance lines was constant, an output radiation energy of 10.5 J and an efficiency of 3% (in terms of the stored energy) were achieved. When the capacitance lines were subjected to pulsed charging, the energy per pulse was 14 J and the efficiency was 4%.