Efficiency of an electron-beam-pumped atomic xenon laser

An experimental investigation was made of an atomic xenon laser in a wide range of active mixtures, pressures, and of the durations as well as specific powers of the electron-beam pump pulses. The highest efficiency was obtained at a pressure of about 1 bar in an Ar - Xe mixture with a xenon content of ∼1% at specific pump power densities 1 - 3 kW cm-3 bar-1 . High-efficiency quasi-cw operation was achieved when the beam current pulse duration was ∼100 μs and the specific pump power density was ∼1 kW cm-3 bar-1 . Quasi-cw operation with the duration of the output radiation pulses ∼2.3 μs was attained at a specific pump power density ∼90 W cm-3 bar-1 . (lasers)