Preionization and discharge stability study of long optical pulse duration UV-preionized XeCl lasers

This paper presents a complete study of the temporal and spatial characteristics of the preionization of a XeCl rare-gas halide laser. The detailed study was made possible using the technique of laser-induced preionization which utilizes the uv radiation from a KrF laser to preionize a second rare-gas halide laser. In addition to the preionization study, high spatial and temporal resolution framing camera photographs have been used to investigate the growth of discharge instabilities which can lead to the premature termination of the XeCl optical pulse. The roles played by HCl, Xe, the buffer gas as well as the discharge energy loading in the development of discharge instabilities have been determined experimentally.