NEW CONTINUOUS-WAVE INFRARED AR-XE LASER AT INTERMEDIATE GAS-PRESSURES PUMPED BY A TRANSVERSE RADIO-FREQUENCY DISCHARGE

An atomic Xe laser with a transverse rf excitation has been operated i n a cw mode in the intermediate pressure regime. The laser output spec trum consisted of 5 Xe lines with wavelengths of 2.03, 2.63, 2.65, 3.3 7, and 3.51 mum. The unoptimized total output power of 330 mW was obta ined for a gas mixture Ar:He:Xe = 59:40:1 at a pressure of 85 Torr and a rf input power of 150 W and excitation frequency of 121 MHz.