Neutron-Pumped Excimer Flashlamp Sources

摘要

A Nuclear Pumped Flashlamp (NPF) is closely related to a Nuclear-Pumped Laser NPL in that both use nuclear radiation to excite the medium. The NPF does not require as high peak power as is needed for NPL inversion. Still, with a reactor source, a large volume NPF can be designed to deliver extremely large fluorescence in the UV up to the infrared range, depending on the media employed. The NPF can then be used for industrial applications or for pumping a laser requiring a high intensity light pump. The first experimental example of this approach was a ~3He-XeBr_2 NPF employed in 1993 to pump a small iodine laser. The present paper discusses issues involved in scaling such a NPF up to an ultra high energy output.