Characteristics of XeCl laser radiation from an unstable cavity with asymmetric radiation coupling-out

The divergence of the radiation from a repetitively pulsed electric-dischar ge transversely excited XeCl laser with an unstable cavity and asymmetric c oupling-out of the radiation was studied experimentally. A cavity with conv ex mirrors made it possible to generate radiation with a near-diffraction d ivergence and to retain the energy at the level of 40% - 50% of the energy of a laser with a plane plane cavity. The generation of a circular spot wit h a uniform intensity distribution by focusing a rectangular beam is descri bed. Calculations and experiments are used to show that this phenomenon doe s not arise from diffraction and is not a result of the interaction of the laser radiation with the medium or with the target material.