The self-injected XeCl excimer laser

Abstract

We present experimental and modelling results of the first self-injected excimer laser. The intracavity losses of a XeCl oscillator are properly modulated by a Pockels cell allowing generation, amplification and extraction of short laser pulses with selectable duration in the range of 1–12 ns, tailored temporal profile and peak power increment up to a factor of three. Longer output laser pulses, up to 100 ns, can be obtained by slicing the intracavity laser radiation without peak power increment. Laser output peak powers in excess of 2 MW have been obtained, with remarkable reproducibility characteristics.