Injection controlled operation of broadband excimer lasers

Highly efficient and extremely narrow spectral output has been demonstrated for an injection controlled electrically excited XeF (C → A) and Xe2Ci laser media. Amplification of an injected tunable dye laser pulse was achieved throughout the entire blue-green spectral region. Experiments were performed by exciting optimized gas mixtures with an intense electron beam. Several different confocal unstable resonator geometries were investigated. In the case of the XeF (C → A) excimer transition, a maximum output of ~ 150 mJ was measured at 482.5 nm for a cavity with magnification M = 1.08, which corresponds to an energy density and intrinsic efficiency of ~8J/liter and ~ 6%, respectively. The tuning range was from 435 to 535 nm.1 An analytical model of the injection process was developed. A set of nonlinear coupled rate equations described the laser process. This model was used to describe the injection controlled excimer laser performance as a function of delay time between the dye laser injection and e-beam pumping pulse, as well as to assist the optimization of the confocal unstable resonator design.