Electron beam excitation of pure Xe and Xe&sngbnd;Ar and Xe&sngbnd;Ne gas mixtures have been studied. Significant differences in the temporal character of ultraviolet output were observed. Under the best conditions laser output of 75‐MW peak power and 0.76‐J output energy were achieved. The molecular xenon laser is established as having the highest power in the wavelength region short of red.