SATURATION STUDIES OF THE E-BEAM SUSTAINED DISCHARGE ATOMIC XENON LASER

In an electron beam sustained discharge Xenon laser the discharge ener gy deposition has been varied in order to investigate the saturation e ffect on the Xenon laser. The current density of the electron beam is varied separately in the range of 0.1-2.7 A/cm(2) to obtain optimized discharge excitation conditions as a function of electron beam current density and gas pressure. An optimal fractional ionization f = 3.5-4 x 10(-5) is found, independent of the electron beam parameters. The sy nergy of electron beam and discharge excitation has resulted in a maxi mum specific energy of 15 J/I at a total gas pressure of 9 bar.