Pulsed lasing mechanism in a high-pressure electrical-discharge Ar–Xe laser

A study of the characteristics of spontaneous and stimulated emission from a pulsed electrical discharge in an Ar–Xe mixture was used to analyze the processes populating the active atomic levels of xenon, and an estimate was made of the efficiency for the transfer of excitation from argon to xenon atoms. A conclusion was reached concerning the excitation of the active levels from the ground state by direct electron impact. An improvement in the laser energy characteristics and a change in the spectral composition of the emitted radiation on increasing the xenon pressure and adding argon were associated with a considerable change in the electron energy distribution function. The transfer of excitation from argon to xenon atoms in the electrical discharge could be neglected. The latter fact is important in the design of electron-beam-controlled and electric-discharge vacuum-ultraviolet lasers utilizing Xe₂ dimers.