The role of the C state in the XeF laser

Ne/Xe/NF3 mixtures were irradiated by a cold-cathode e-beam, and the fluorescence yields of the B and C states of XeF were measured as a function of neon pressure from 200 to 5300 Torr. At low neon pressures, the fluorescence yield of the B state corresponds to one photon emitted for each neon ion f...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 1979-01, Vol.34 (1), p.52-55
Main Authors: Finn, T. G., Palumbo, L. J., Champagne, L. F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Ne/Xe/NF3 mixtures were irradiated by a cold-cathode e-beam, and the fluorescence yields of the B and C states of XeF were measured as a function of neon pressure from 200 to 5300 Torr. At low neon pressures, the fluorescence yield of the B state corresponds to one photon emitted for each neon ion formed. As the neon pressure is increased the fluorescence yield of the B state decreases, but the ratio of the C emission to B emission approaches unity. If the C is formed through a channel which is independent of the B state, then the ultimate efficiency of the XeF laser is severely limited. However, analysis of the data with a XeF kinetics model indicates that the enhanced C emission results from two-body quenching of the B state by neon. We conclude that the XeF laser performance has been limited by other processes, namely, incomplete vibrational relaxation and ground-state bottlenecking.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.90596