Fluorine depletion measurements in e-beam pumped KrF

Abstract

The amount of fluorine consumed during e-beam excitation of KrF laser mixtures is measured under lasing and nonlasing conditions. At a specific energy loading of approximately 145 J/l for a mixture of Ar/Kr/F2 = 859/142/2.8 Torr, an F2 loss of approximately 80% under lasing conditions is observed. During nonlasing conditions the loss is approximately 60%. This difference in the amount of F2 consumption between lasing and nonlasing conditions is unexpected. Additional work is suggested to verify that this is a true effect.