Electrical and chemical properties of the XeCl phototriggered laser

The purpose of this paper is to study, through numerical modeling, the XeCl kinetics and the mechanisms affecting plasma uniformity in high-pressure discharge pumped excimer lasers. In the model, the plasma is represented by a resistance inversely proportional to the electron density. Time variation of the electron density is obtained by integrating the transport equations coupled to the heavy-species kinetics and to the external circuit. A detailed description of the XeCl molecule and of the associated kinetics has been taken into account, together with the effect of the gas mixture composition on power deposition and the spatial uniformity of the plasma. Calculated discharge current and voltage are compared with experimental results. The obtained results indicate clearly that about 50% of the halogen is consumed at the end of the discharge pulse.