Abstract

High pressure (>0.5-atm) atomic xenon lasers are of interest since they can be pumped over a broad range of pump powers (a few W/cc to 10's of kW /cc) and have demonstrated high efficiency (>1%).^1–3 The laser operates at wavelengths between 1.73 and 3.51 μm. with the 1.73- and 2.03-μm transitions providing the best efficiency in Ar/Xe and He/Ar/Xe gas mixes, respectively. Since the laser gas mix typically contains <1% Xe, the buffer gas plays a significant role in determining the kinetics of laser operation.

© 1990 Optical Society of America