Scaling characteristics of the XeF (C to A) excimer laser

The scaling characteristics and medium properties of an injection-controlled XeF(C to A) laser pumped by a 10-ns-high current density electron beam have been investigated. A five-component laser gas mixture, consisting of F/sub 2/, NF/sub 3/, Xe, Kr, and Ar was optimized for the scaled laser conditions, resulting in 0.8-J output pulses at 486.8 nm, corresponding to an energy density of small-signal-gain measurements combined with kinetic modeling permitted the characteristics of the dependence of net gain on the electron-beam energy deposition and gas mixture composition, resulting in an improved understanding of XeF(C to A) laser operation. >