Temperature dependent gain of the atomic xenon laser

Abstract

Measured and calculated gain of the 1.73 μm [5d(3/2)1–6p(5/2)2] and 2.03 μm [5d(3/2)1–6p(3/2)1] atomic xenon transitions for gas temperatures between 290 and 590 K are presented. Fission-fragment excitation was used to generate the gain in Ar/Xe, He/Ar/Xe, and Ne/Ar/Xe gas mixtures at a pump power of 8 W/cm3. For constant gas density, the gain exhibits an approximate Tgas−n dependence with n between 2 and 3. The primary reactions responsible for the temperature dependence of the gain have been identified as dimer formation, dissociative recombination, and enhanced electron collisional mixing of the laser manifold due to an increased electron density.