Discharge stability of UV preionized XeCl* lasers: a kinetic model

In our recent studies of long pulse operation of discharge excited XeCl* lasers, we found that the longest laser pulse duration (270 ns) was much shorter than the current pulse, and the tendency of the discharge to break up into a series of discrete high current filaments at late times was the factor responsible for limiting the laser pulse duration. We describe a semi-empirical kinetic model of this instability which demonstrates the crucial role played by the electron attaching component of the gas mixture in causing the onset of the instability.