Efficiency characterization of vacuum ultraviolet molecular fluorine (F2) laser (157 nm) excited by an intense electric discharge

Detailed experimental results of a discharge-excited high-pressure F₂ laser are compared with a model prediction. Special emphasis is placed on the output performance of the discharge-pumped F ₂ laser at extremely high excitation rates (10~35 MW/cm³ ) by using high-pressure laser mixtures up to 8 atm. The kinetics model predicts fractional contributions of excited F₂ formation channels, relaxation channels, and absorption channels together with the formation and extraction efficiencies at the experimental conditions. Although the only experimental quantity compared with the model prediction is laser output energy, it is enough to obtain a better understanding of major F₂ laser kinetics and key issues for improving the efficiency