Modeling of an XeCl excimer laser excited by a beam of fast electrons

A homogeneous model of a fast-electron-beam-excited XeCl excimer laser is presented. The specific energy input (SEI) is determined from the pressure jump; and the energy and gain characteristics of the laser are measured. The SEI amounted to 9 J/liter at 3.5 atm; the efficiency with respect to the injected energy was as high as 7 percent. A comparison of experimental and calculated results made it possible to refine the quenching constant of the excited XeCl molecules for collisions with electrons and HCl molecules. The role of cascade processes of the excitation of vibrational states of HCl molecules in the XeCl-laser kinetics was determined.