Vol. 22, issue 11, article # 6
Polunin Yu. P., Soldatov A. N., Yudin N. A. Population inversion in self-terminating metal-vapor lasers under conditions of superfast breakdown. // Optika Atmosfery i Okeana. 2009. V. 22. No. 11. P. 1051-1058 [in Russian].Copy the reference to clipboard
Abstract:
The process of obtaining population inversion in metal vapor lasers is investigated under conditions of superfast breakdown initiated at the ends of the discharge channel of a gas-discharge tube (GDТ), when the electrons, emitted from plasma toward the anode, turned into the runaway ones. It is demonstrated that the onset of the superfast breakdown in the active medium is accompanied by generation of plasma polarization and high-velocity ionization waves, which essentially change the regimes of discharge evolution and population inversion in the active medium. Under conditions of superfast breakdown, the radiation distribution over the GDT discharge channel cross section was uniform, the power output increased in proportion to the volume of the active medium, the maximal laser pulse repetition frequency was ~ 1 MHz, and the lasing efficiency reached ~ 6-8% of the efficiency of the strontium vapor laser. Simultaneous lasing of all components of the active gas-vapor mixture of the strontium vapor laser (He, Ne, and Sr) was first excited.
Keywords:
metal vapor lasers, discharge, breakdown