Quenching kinetics and small signal gain spectrum of the ZnI photodissociation laser

By photodissociation ZnI₂ with 193 nm (ArF) laser radiation, the rate constants for quenching of the upper and lower energy levels of the ZnI (B → X) laser by ZnI₂ have been measured to be (1.7 ± 0.2) × 10^-9 and (1.4 ± 0.4) × 10^-9 cm³ s^-1, respectively. Although the former rate constant was found to be laser intensity-dependent for I ? 10⁵ W cm^-2, the ZnI(B) state radiative lifetime was determined to be 26 ± 4 ns. Also, the small signal gain coefficient, g₀, of this molecular laser has a peak value of ? 15% cm^-1 at λ ? 602 nm and exceeds 5% cm^-1 for 591 nm ≤ λ ≤ 608 nm for a potential tuning range of at least 170 Å.