<title>Parametric study of a 3-J XeCl x-ray preionized excimer laser</title>

Abstract

A wide aperture, X-ray preionized discharge pumped XeC1 laser, is described. Before increasing the repetition rate, the laser performances are optimized without any gas circulation. The laser energy is given as a function of various parameters : delay time between X-ray and laser pulses, repetition rate, gas mixture, X-ray dose, charging voltage (Va), laser gas pressure and Vc/PL*D, (D is the interelectrode spacing). The active medium is disturbed during about 3 seconds after the laser discharge (confirmed by interferometry experiments). The laser energy per pulse is constant with low fluctuations until a repetition rate of 0.3 Hz. The best efficiency, for different pressures, is obtained for about the same Vc/PL*D value. The laser energy and the efficiency increase with the buffer gas pressure. But in this case, it is better to decrease the Xe and HC1 partial pressures. Laser energy saturation versus X-ray dose depends on laser gas pressure and mixture. This saturation is not reached for high pressures. Meanwhile more than 3 Joules per pulse have been extracted from a 42*5*4 cm3 discharge.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.