Variation of Xe concentration in a high pressure Ar/Xe laser with coaxial e-beam pumping

A series of measurements on the high pressure (up to 18 bar) coaxial e-beam pumped Ar/Xe laser has been made at high power loading (up to 25 MW/cm~2) for various Xe mole fraction in Ar. We found that the optimum laser gas composition in our system was 0.4% Xe in Ar which was independent of the total gas pressure. At the optimum gas composition the output energy increased with increasing total gas pressure up to 16 bar, but the intrinsic efficiency reached a maximum at the total gas pressure of 8 bar. It was also found that at the optimum power deposition for both the 2.63μm and 2.65μm transitions the ratio of the integrated optical energy to that of the 1.73μm transition had a minimum in most cases at the optimum gas mixture for various gas pressures. This ratio increased with increasing gas pressure. The experimental results suggested that besides the 2-body Xe quenching at high Xe fraction and electron collision mixing at high power depositions the heavy particle quenching from Ar at high gas press     

Na 32P-32D line broadening by Ne,Ar, and Xe

The normalized emission intensity in the wings of the optically thin Na 3²P-3²D lines broadened by Ne, Ar, and Xe has been measured in emission from a high-pressure discharge. A blended satellite occurs about 80 cm^-1 into the Na-Xe red wing and a progression of increasing red wing intensity from Ne to Ar to Xe is observed. Xe densities of 2.5 and 9.1 × 10¹⁹ cm^-3 were used, and the pressure dependence of the NaXe line shape indicates that multiple perturber interactions are important in the far wing at the higher noble gas densities.     

原子团簇对飞秒激光的吸收

使用800nm飞秒脉冲激光研究了Xe,Ar,He等原子团簇对激光的吸收.实验结果表明,脉冲阀门的工作压力、所使用的气体种类等因素对团簇的尺寸及团簇对激光的吸收影响很大.在阀门工作压力为20×10⁵Pa、激光功率密度为1×10¹⁵W/cm²的条件下,Xe团簇对激光的吸收高达45%.激光预脉冲的存在会降低原子团簇对激光能量的吸收.离子能量测量结果表明,团簇对激光的高效吸收导致较高离子温度等离子体的生 关键词： 原子团簇 飞秒激光 能量吸收效率 高能离子     

Spectral line competition in a coaxial electron-beam-pumped high pressure Ar/Xe laser

In order to study the kinetic mechanism of the e-beam pumped Ar/Xe laser, the temporal profiles of individual laser lines during multiline oscillation have been measured as a function of power deposition (1–12MW/cm³) and gas laser pressure (2–14 bar) using a short pulse (30 ns) coaxial electron beam as excitation source. It was found that the optimum output energy at each pressure was obtained at the same specific power deposition.Strong line competition has been observed between the 2.65 and 1.73 m transitions. In order to explain our results we suggest that besides electron collision mixing (ECM) between the 5d and 6p levels of Xe, there is also a redistribution between all 6p levels which strongly favours the lower levels at higher pumping densities.     

Gas-discharge XeF* (B→X) laser with high specific output energy

The discharge characteristics of the XeF* (BX) laser are investigated. The NF₃ and Xe partial pressure of the laser gas mixture and the total gas pressure have been varied. A highest specific output energy of 4.7 J/l with an efficiency of 0.5% was obtained from a X-ray preionized Ne/Xe/NF₃ gas mixture at 6 bar with single-pulse excitation through a multichannel spark gap.     

Magnetic hyperfine interaction of swift43 K ions recoiling in helium and xenon

The 738 keV 7/2^– isomeric state in⁴³K (=292 ± 5 ns,g=1.266 ± 0.015) was produced in the reaction⁴He(⁴⁰Ar,p) using the 185 MeV pulsed⁴⁰Ar beam of VICKSI and a 2–7 bar helium target cell. The suitability of this isomeric state for hyperfine studies during recoil in gases and after implantation into solids was investigated via the TDPAD technique. The hyperfine deorientation of highly stripped⁴³K ions in He and Xe was investigated and interpreted with the AbragamPound model. When adding up to 15% Xe to the He target gas, a near-exponential loss of alignment with the Xe partial pressure was observed. This effect can be explained by K-hole production in⁴³K in the Xe-K collision for which a cross section of=5 · 10^–18 cm² was estimated.     

Absorption by XeCl* excimer molecules of their own emission of the В–Х transition (λ = 308 nm) in a dense Ar–Xe–CCl<Subscript>4</Subscript> medium upon pumping by fast electrons and uranium-235 fission fragments

Luminescence of dense Ar–Xe–CCl₄ gas mixtures with a low CCl₄ content upon pumping by fast electrons and uranium-235 fission fragments is studied by spectroscopic methods. It is found that, in a cell with a resonator tuned to the В–Х transition of the XeCl* molecule (λ = 308 nm), the D-state population of the XeCl* excimer molecule (the D–X transition, λ = 235 nm) depends on the B-state population and increases by many times with increasing B-state population of the XeCl* molecule. The stimulated absorption coefficient k = 1.2 × 10^–16 of В–Х transition emission of the XeCl* molecule (λ_max = 308 nm), which leads to population of the D-state of this molecule, and the coefficient of amplification μ = 2.5 × 10^–4 cm^–1 of В–Х transition emission of the ХеCl* molecule (λ = 308 nm) are measured upon pumping by uranium- 235 fission fragments with the specific energy input into the gas medium of ~60 mJ/cm³ and a specific power of energy input of about 240 W/cm³.     

Luminescence of rare gas crystals at high excitation densities for VUV laser applications

Exciton densities of the order of 10¹⁸ cm^–3 are generated in 0.1–0.3 mm thick surface layers in an area of 10×20 mm² of optically clear rare gas crystals. The quantum efficiencies at 126 nm (Ar), 145 nm (Kr), and 172 nm (Xe) remain near 0.5 even for the highest excitation densities. The corresponding gain coefficients of 2.6 cm^–1 (Ar) to 18 cm^–1 (Xe) exceed those of high pressure gas lasers by a factor of 20. Stimulated emission is inferred by observing the line narrowing, the dependence of intensities and time courses on excitation density and amplification measurements. The net gain coefficient is reduced however to 0.5–1 cm^–1 by transient absorption of excited centers and scattering by irradiation induced defects. The results are analysed by a system of rate equations for the excitation, relaxation, quenching, and amplification processes. A peculiar temperature dependence of the quantum efficiencies and time courses is attributed to electron trapping at grain boundaries.     

X-ray preionized CO2 laser

A short pulse (100 ns) high-energy x-ray source has been used to preionize a transversely excited carbon dioxide gas discharge laser of 600 cm³ active volume. The maximum output power of 60 MW in a 50 ns FWHM pulse was achieved from a CO₂–N₂–He–CO–Xe static gas mixture at 600 Torr pressure. The energy conversion efficiency was 6%.     

Frequency shifts of quadrupolar components of the collision-induced fundamental band of H2

The collision-induced fundamental infrared absorption band of H₂ in binary mixtures of para hydrogen with Xe, Kr, and Ar at room temperature was studied and the enhancement absorption profiles obtained were analyzed. The present study establishes the following points: The quadrupolar components show shifts of 9 cm⁻¹ in H₂Xe and 6 cm⁻¹ in H₂Kr toward lower frequency from the corresponding Raman frequencies of the low pressure gas, whereas the overlap components show no shift; each of the overlap components of the Q branch has a dip at the corresponding molecular frequency Q(J).     

Pressure-induced ultraviolet absorption in rare gases: Absorption coefficients for mixtures of Xe and Ar at pressures up to 40 atm in the vicinity of 147 nm

Absorption coefficient κ_υ for mixtures of Xe (0.2–20 kg/cm²) and Ar (5–40 kg/cm²) has been measured in the range 0.1 cm^-1 < κ_υ < 40 cm^-1. Exponential and power dependencies of κ_υ on wavenumber were observed and are discussed. The κ_υ-dependencies on the pressure of mixture components are explained by photon absorption at multiparticle collisions of Xe and Ar atoms.     

Influence of Ar, Ne, Xe, and CCl4 impurities on luminescence kinetics of Cd II ions (5s22D5/2-5p2P3/2 transition, λ = 441.6 nm) in He-Cd mixture

The luminescence kinetics of the Cd II ion at a wavelength of 441.6 nm has been studied experi-mentally in a high-pressure He-Cd mixture in the presence of Ar, Ne, Xe, and CCl₄ impurities. Cadmium ions were excited through the bombardment of a cadmium foil heated up to 240°C by a pulsed electron beam with an electron energy of 150 keV, a pulse duration of 3 ns, and a current of 500 A. The constants of collisional quenching of the Cd II 5s ^{2 2} D _5/2 level by Ar, Ne, and Xe atoms and CCl₄ molecules and the integral luminescence quenching constants of this level in the helium medium by these impurity gases have been determined. The constants of collisional quenching appeared to be 8.1 × 10⁻¹² (Ar), 1.2 × 10⁻¹² (Xe), 1.5 × 10⁻¹³ (Ne), and 1.8 × 10⁻¹⁰ cm³/s (CCl₄, for λ = 325 nm), while the integral constants were found to be, respectively, 4.1 × 10⁻¹¹, 3.4 × 10⁻¹¹, 9.5 × 10⁻¹², 1.4 × 10⁻⁹ cm³/s for Ar, Ne, Xe, and CCl₄ at a buffer gas pressure of 1 atm. Original Russian Text ? A.I. Miskevich, Liu Tao, 2009, published in Optika i Spektroskopiya, 2009, Vol. 107, No. 1, pp. 45–49.     

Organic vapor excitation by electron beam pumping of rare-gas—Organic vapor mixtures

Broad-band fluorescence at 4000 Å has been observed from gas phase mixtures of the dyes POPOP and α-NPO in Xe and Ar. The photon yields have been measured at 3 atm total pressure and are found to reach the following maximum values: α-NPO/Xe: 2%, α-NPO/Ar: 5%, POPOP/Xe: 9%, POPOP/Ar: 20%.     

High-pressure gas lasers on Ar I,Xe I,and Kr I transitions

Lasing has been obtained in a high pressure (up to 17 atm) gas on Ar I, Xe I, and Kr I transitions. The gas was excited by a transverse discharge with volume preionization by a discharge through a dielectric. New laser lines belonging to Ar I (9123, 9658, 10470, and 11488 Å), Xe I (8232 Å), and Kr I (8929 Å) have been found. The dependences of the spectral and energetic characteristics of the He-Ar laser on the conditions of gas pressure and discharge have been investigated in detail. At high pressures, wide (about 50 HGz) laser lines have been found as well as high power (>10⁵ W) laser lines. Time characteristics of the radiation have been investigated and optimal conditions for the generation power have been defined.     

Scaling and performance of CO2 lasers at supra-atmospheric pressure

The performance of a compact uv photo-preionized TE laser is studied in the pressure range 1–5 bar. As the pressure is increased, the laser pulse shape is little altered, but both the peak power and the total output pulse energy increase significantly with pressure, even for constant input electrical energy. For various gas mixtures and excitation source capacitors the measurements suggest approximate output energy scaling with the product of the source charge per unit electrode area [C.m^–2] and the molecular partial pressure [CO₂+N₂+CO]. This is explained in terms of the pressure-dependent discharge impedance. An input-energy-related discharge instability limits the optimum laser pressure to 1.5–2.5 bar, and we show that, at constant input energy, the instability boundary depends on the molecular partial pressure alone. The pre-ionization photo-electron yield varies negligibly with pressure, but the discharge tolerance to added oxygen decreases asp ^–3 top ^–4, dependent on gas mixture. Nevertheless sealed operation for >10⁵ shots has been obtained with a 5% CO₂5% CO3% N₂2% H₂85% He gas mixture at a total pressure of 5 bar.     

Numerical study of the effect of gas flow in low pressure inductively coupled Ar/N<Subscript>2</Subscript> plasmas

The effect of gas flow in low pressure inductively coupled Ar/N₂ plasmas operating at the rf frequency of 13.56 MHz and the total gas pressure of 20 mTorr is studied at the gas flows of 5–700 sccm by coupling the plasma simulation with the calculation of flow dynamics. The gas temperature is 300 K and input power is 300 W. The Ar fractions are varied from 0% to 95%. The species taken into account include electrons, Ar atoms and their excited levels, N₂ molecules and their seven different excited levels, N atoms, and Ar⁺, N⁺, N₂ ⁺, N₄ ⁺ ions. 51 chemical reactions are considered. It is found that the electron densities increase and electron temperatures decrease with a rise in gas flow rate for the different Ar fractions. The densities of all the plasma species for the different Ar fractions and gas flow rates are obtained. The collisional power losses in plasma discharges are presented and the effect of gas flow is investigated.     

Excimer ArF laser with an output energy of 1.3 J at 2.0% efficiency on the He:Ar:F2 mixture

In this paper it is shown that to achieve a maximum efficiency and high output energy of an ArF (193 nm) excimer laser, one should use optimal pump intensity. It has been shown experimentally that the optimal pump intensity for an ArF excimer laser with the mixture of He:Ar:F₂ has a value of 4.5–5.0 MW/cm³. The results of an experimental study of the pump and active medium parameters effect on the efficiency and output energy of the ArF excimer laser on the mixture of He:Ar:F₂ are presented. To provide high pump intensity of an active medium, the excitation scheme of the LC-inverter type has been used where the current return conductor inductance had been increased from 30 to 80 nH. This allows the pump to achieve levels of intensity above 5.0 MW/cm³. By using the pump intensity of 5.0 MW/cm³ in an active medium of He:Ar:F₂–79.7:20:0.3 at total pressure of 2.4 atm, we are the first to obtain the output energy of 1.3 J at the total efficiency of 2.0%. The pulse duration (FWHM) was 15±1 ns and the peak pulse power was 85 MW. PACS 42.55.Lt; 42.60.Lh     

Tunable diode laser spectroscopy of ethylene oxide near 1693 nm

We describe the application of the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) to absorption spectroscopy of the ethylene oxide (EO) Q-branch near 1693 nm. The VCSEL was electrically scanned over spectral intervals of up to ∼13 cm⁻¹ at a 1 kHz repetition rate. A methane absorption line at 5903.3 cm⁻¹ and Fabry–Pérot etalon with a free spectral range of 0.4 cm⁻¹ were used to calibrate frequency scale. The EO was mixed with ambient air, and total gas pressure and mixing ratios were varied from a few mbar to 1 bar and from ∼10² to 10⁵ parts per million, respectively. A rapid roll off of EO absorbance at 5903.7 cm⁻¹ was observed at gas pressures below ∼0.5 bar. A linear dependence of EO peak absorbance on mixing ratio was found at a total gas pressure of 1 bar. We conclude that monolithic VCSELs operating near 1693 nm could be used in EO sensors with a detection limit in the ppb range.     

Comprehensive kinetic model for electron-beam-excited XeCs+ ionic excimers

A theoretical model that accounts for fundamental plasma processes leading to the formation and decay of XeCs⁺ ionic excimers in high-pressure electron-beam-excited Ar/Xe/Cs mixtures was developed. Numerical calculations based on the model were performed. For atmospheric gas mixtures, the model predicts an intrinsic efficiency (energy stored in upper state/energy deposited) of 18%. Model calculations also indicate that while XeCs⁺ was predominantly formed via the rare-gas ion (Xe⁺) channel over the entire e-beam duration, the rare-gas metastable (Xe*) channel assumes dominance in the afterglow period.     

Effects of total CH4/Ar gas pressure on the structures and field electron emission properties of carbon nanomaterials grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

The effects of total CH₄/Ar gas pressure on the growth of carbon nanomaterials on Si (1 0 0) substrate covered with CoO nanoparticles, using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), were investigated. The structures of obtained products were correlated with the total gas pressure and changed from pure carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through hybrid CNTs/graphene sheets (GSs), to pure GSs as the total gas pressure changed from 20 to 4 Torr. The total gas pressure influenced the density of hydrogen radicals and Ar ions in chamber, which in turn determined the degree of how CoO nanoparticles were deoxidized and ion bombardment energy that governed the final carbon nanomaterials. Moreover, the obtained hybrid CNTs/GSs exhibited a lower turn-on field (1.4 V/μm) emission, compared to either 2.7 V/μm for pure CNTs or 2.2 V/μm for pure GSs, at current density of 10 μA/cm².