High-power electron-beam-controlled Ar–Xe laser with (2.5–5)×10–5 rad beam divergence

A study was made of the beam divergence of an Ar–Xe electron-beam-controlled laser emitting at λ = 1.73 µ with an active volume of 10 liters and a maximum specific output energy of 8 J/liter. A diffraction-limited divergence of 25 µ rad, at the half-energy level, was achieved by pumping with an electron beam. In the case of electron-beam-controlled pumping the divergence was (3–5)×10^–5 rad.