Numerical simulation is used to show that conversion of radiation from
a femtosecond XeCl excimer system by stimulated Raman scattering can
be used to generate pulses with unique characteristics: a shorter dura
tion, a smaller reciprocal of the width of the gain band, a steep lead
ing edge, and a high contrast. A basic four-channel system with consec
utive addition of pulses involving stimulated Raman scattering is prop
osed. It is shown that the total output power can reach 120 TW when 21
beams of 1 J energy each are amplified in an electric-discharge outpu
t module with an interelectrode distance of the order of 10 cm.