Efficiency of Pumping of the Active Medium of Metal Vapor Lasers: Gas-Discharge Tubes with Electrodes in the Hot Zone of the Discharge Channel

Abstract

The electrophysical approach is used to estimate conditions for effective pumping of the active medium of lasers on self-terminating metal atom transitions in gas-discharge tubes (GDT) with electrodes located in the hot zone of the discharge channel. It is demonstrated that in the laser discharge contour there are processes limiting the frequency and energy characteristics (FEC) of radiation. The mechanism of influence of these processes on the FEC of radiation, and technical methods of their neutralization are considered. It is demonstrated that the practical efficiency of a copper vapor laser can reach ~10% under conditions of neutralization of these processes. Conditions for forming the distributed GDT impedance when the active medium is pumped on the front of the fast ionization wave are determined.