Heavy ion beam pumped amplified spontaneous emission on the 172 nm xenon excimer transition

Amplified spontaneous emission on the second xenon excimer continuum at 172 nm wavelength was observed in dense gas evaporated from a solid xenon surface and pumped by heavy ions. A pulsed 3.78 MeV Kr+ beam from a radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator was used for the experiment. A series of 800 μJ particle pulses each 10 ns long was focused to a small, elliptical beam spot leading to a pump power density of the order of 1 GW/g. Optical gain in the target was deduced from the angular distribution of light emitted along the target axis, and from a variation of optical intensity with gain length. A maximum gain of 26%/cm was determined using a model calculation which reproduced the experimental data.