The present study contributes to a better understanding of the atomic
Xe laser as a powerful IR source. Several important phenomena like the
dependence of both the observed optimized input power and maximum out
put power on the square of the gas density and also the constant fract
ional ionization are reported and verified theoretically. The insight
in the kinetics of this system has also lead to the realization of sma
ll-size continuous systems with output powers in the range of watts. T
he results of the present study can be used to predict the performance
of the atomic Xe laser under different operating conditions.