Output energy enhancement of discharge-pumped XeF(B to X) lasers with the two-component halogen donor mixtures

The effect of using a two-component halogen donor mixture was studied in a discharge-pumped XeF (B to X) laser using low-pressure (2 and NF₃ donors. The laser output energy obtained with the 2-atm He-diluted mixture was higher by a factor of 2 than that obtained with the conventional He/Xe/NF₃ mixture. With an atmospheric-pressure Ne-diluted mixture containing two halogen donors, a laser energy enhancement of more than 70% over that of the Ne/Xe/NF₃ mixture was obtained. This effect can be attributed to the increase of the laser extraction efficiency due to the enhancement of the net gain as manifested by the small-signal gain coefficient, small-signal absorption coefficient, and gain saturation intensity estimated from a Rigrod\´s analysis.