Improvement in the performance of an Ar-Xe laser using magnetic spiker sustainer discharge excitation

In an X-ray preionized Ar-Xe laser using a magnetic-spiker sustainer discharge circuit with a magnetic pulse compressor a parametric investigation of the laser output versus gas composition and electrical excitation was performed. A considerable improvement in the performance of the discharge excited Ar-Xe laser was demonstrated. An output energy of 436 mJ was obtained from an active volume of 0.26 l at a total gas pressure of 1.8 bar containing 1% Xe in Ar with an overall efficiency of 2.1%.