Xenon chloride laser excited by microsecond electronbeam pulses

An experimental investigation was made of an XeCl laser pumped by electron-beam pulses of τ_0.5=2 μ sec duration. An output energy at the λ =308 nm wavelength was 5 J/liter when dielectric mirrors were used and the corresponding efficiency (measured relative to the input energy) was ~3%. When the pump power was reduced, it was found that the output radiation included a considerable contribution of infrared radiation due to transitions in xenon when the mixture contained a buffer gas (argon).