Pressure-broadening studies of the 3.51μm line of xenon by saturated-amplification techniques

A saturated-amplification experiment has been used to determine the variation of the Lorentzian width of the 3.51 mu m line of xenon with pressure. Measurements show a nonlinear dependence for p<50 mTorr and a linear one for p>50 mTorr; the slope is then (30+or-3) MHz Torr -1 . The effect of strong elastic collisions is demonstrated by the superimposition of a broad background on the Lorentzian profile.