Infrared laser emission from a helium-xenon mixture using fission fragment excitation

An experiment which proves the feasibility of directly converting nuclear reaction energy into laser light is reported. A two-section, 1-meter-long laser device was placed next to the Los Alamos Godiva IV fast burst nuclear reactor. One section of the laser cavity was lined with a 0.05-mm-thick, 93% enriched uranium foil. An infrared laser pulse was generated from a fission fragment produced helium-xenon plasma within this section. The mixture ratios used were 225:1 and 20:1, He:Xe, at a total pressure of 200 torr. The wavelength of the light pulse was between 3.0 and 4.2 microns. An analysis of the energy deposition process is presented. An expression that can be used to estimate the absolute parametric variation of the energy deposited is derived. Radiation enhancement of an electrically pumped probe/alignment Xe 1 laser is analyzed.