Demonstration of lasing at 41.8 nm in Xe8+ driven in a plasma waveguide

We describe the first demonstration of a collisionally-excited optical field ionisation laser driven within a gas-filled capillary waveguide. Lasing on the 4d95d - 4d95p transition at 41.8 nm in Xe8+ was observed to be closely-correlated to conditions under which the pump laser pulses were guided well by the waveguide. Simulations of the propagation of the pump laser radiation show that gain was achieved over essentially the whole 30 mm length of the waveguide.

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