Cs-Xe dc gas discharge as a fast highly nonlinear volumetric medium for microwaves

A plasma of the positive column of a de gas discharge in a Cs-Xe mixture was shown to provide an effective volumetric nonlinear medium for microwaves. In such a gas-discharge plasma at a xenon pressure 30 Torr and an electron density N-e > 10(12) cm(-3), a uniform spatial distribution of electron density with width about 0.8 of the discharge tube diameter was achieved. Using a 35 GHz microwave beam with intensities up to 0.5 W/cm(2), it has been found that the plasma of the positive column Cs-Xe discharge has a very high nonlinear refractive index n(2) = -0.07 cm(2)/W and a relatively fast response time of less than a millisecond.