Laser utilizing an Ar–Xe–NF3 mixture with a discharge stabilized by a short-pulse electron beam

A study was made of an XeF laser excited with a discharge controlled by a 50-nsec pulsed electron beam. It was found that, for an appropriate choice of the discharge circuit inductance and of the shape of the electron beam current pulse, the maximum discharge power was reached while the beam current was decreasing and values of ~10⁶ W/cm³ or more were obtained. A high-power pump pulse was thus combined with a high plasma voltage (of the order of the charging voltage), suitable for obtaining shortduration radiation pulses. The output energy and the energy fed into the gas were determined as a function of the composition of the gas mixture, charging voltage, storage capacitance, and pressure. A specific output energy of 2.5 J/liter was obtained.