Oscillation at 172 nm for 200 nsec has been observed at a pressure of 1.5 atm of xenon with a 1hyphen;m length of gain medium pumped by a 200hyphen;kV 7hyphen;A/cm21hyphen;mgr;sec electron beam. The observed behavior agrees with calculations based on the excitedhyphen;state mixing model for this new operating regime. The results support model predictions that a modest increase in excitation rate (about a factor of 2) would yield quasihyphen;steadyhyphen;state laser oscillation with an intrinsic efficiency near 5percnt;, a fluence of sim;1 J/cm2, and a peak intracavity twohyphen;way flux of sim;50 MW/cm2. In optimized laser amplifier designs, significantly higher amplifier efficiencies should be possible.
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