ION-ATOM CHARGE-TRANSFER SYSTEM FOR A HEAVY-ION-BEAM PUMPED LASER

An Ar target to which Cs vapor could be added, excited by a pulsed bea m of 100-MeV S-32 ions, was studied as a prototype ion-atom charge-tra nsfer system for pumping short-wavelength lasers. Low-velocity Ar2+ io ns were efficiently produced; a huge increase in the intensity of the Ar II 4d-4p spectral lines was observed when Cs vapor was added to the argon. This observation is explained by a selective charge transfer o f the Cs 6s electron into the upper levels of the observed transitions . A rate constant of (1.4 +/- 0.2) X 10(-9) cm3/s for the transfer pro cess was determined.