Discharge pumping of the Br2* laser

Laser action on the E→B band of molecular bromine at 292 nm has been observed in an E-beam-controlled discharge. The laser mixture was 99.6% Ar and 0.4% Br2 at a pressure of 4 atm. The mean discharge current and voltage were 25 A/cm2 and 11 kV/cm, respectively. The high-energy E-beam current density was 1.5 A/cm2. The mechanisms for creating Br2* in a discharge are discussed.