Characterization of an ultrahigh peak power XeF(C to A) excimer laser system

摘要

The gain characteristics of an electron-beam pumped XeF(C to A) excimer amplifier operating in the blue-green spectral region were investigated for several laser pulse lengths. Saturation energy densities of 50 and 80 mJ/cm/sup 2/ were measured for injected laser pulse durations of 250 fs and approximately 100 ps, respectively. A gain bandwidth of 60 nm was observed with approximately 100-ps pulse injection. Using an optimized unstable resonator design, the laser amplifier has produced 275-mJ pulses with a pulse duration of 250 fs and a 2.5 times diffraction-limited beam quality, making the XeF(C to A) amplifier the first compact laser system in the visible spectral region to reach peak powers at the terawatt level.