Investigation of Doped Inert Gas Solids for Cryogenic Lasers

Inert gas polycrystalline samples containing about 0.05–0.5% of dopants such as neutral excimers XeF, KrF, NeF, and ionic excimers Rb²⁺F^–, Cs²⁺F^–, Cs²⁺Cl^–, and also molecules CO-Hg, NO, N₂O and ¹³CO₂ are considered as active media for cryogenic lasers emitting in a broad wavelength range from VUV through VIS into far IR. A correlation between the values of the oscillator strength f in the range of 0.4–10^–6, the cross section for stimulated emission between 10^–15–10^–17 cm² and the pump energy density at laser threshold (10^–3–10^–2 J/cm³) confirms the lasing potential of the systems XeF/Ar (B-X, 411 nm) and of those emitting in IR in agreement with experiment. For the deep UV and VUV transitions B-X of alkalihalides in solid Ne (196.5 nm, 220.1 nm, 136 nm) high pumping thresholds are derived despite of high f values because of large line width.