A proposed ablation laser

A new type of eximer laser is proposed; it involves the simultaneous sublimation and excitation of a frozen film by means of a relativistic electron beam. Calculated beam requirements for noble gases are ∼ 10 kA/cm2 of 400 kV electrons for periods of 2 to 12 ns. Predicted advantages of this laser are high gain and the elimination of wavelength limiting optical windows. Preliminary experimental fluorescence spectra have been obtained from xenon films. The emission from the solid phase consists primarily of two 100 Å wide bands centered at 1690 Å and 1730 Å the fluorescence lifetimes are 4 ± 2 ns for both bands. © 1975.