Temporal and radial evolution of the populations of CuI levels inthe CuBr vapor laser

Populations of CuI ground state, resonance, and metastable levels have been measured in CuBr laser with and without hydrogen additives. Temporal evolution and spatial distribution populations have been studied during the excitation pulse and also during the interpulse period of time. Addition of hydrogen results in a smaller rate of resonance and metastable levels excitation and smaller depopulation of the ground state during the excitation pulse. Repopulation of the ground state after the excitation pulse with hydrogen is much faster. CuBr molecules have been detected only in the periphery of the active zone. The density of the CuBr molecules had no noticeable change either during the excitation pulse or in the interpulse period     

Influence of the excitation circuits on the CuBr laser performance

A comparative study has been carried out of the output characteristics, electric parameters, and main kinetic plasma processes concerning CuBr laser performance during the excitation pulse. Four electric circuits were used for CuBr vapor laser excitation: WPC (without peaking capacitor); OC (ordinary circuit, i.e., with a peaking capacitor); IPC (interacting peaking circuits), and IC (interacting circuits). The calculated and experimental values are in very good agreement. The improvement of the CuBr laser performance from WPC- to IC-excitation (the laser power and efficiency increase three times) is mainly attributed to the increased physical laser efficiency, which concerns the electrooptic energy conversion with regard to plasma kinetic processes     

Influence of the active zone diameter, on the UV-ion Ne-CuBr laserperformance

An active-zone-diameter scanning of an ultraviolet (UV) Cu⁺ laser excited in a nanosecond, pulsed longitudinal Ne-CuBr discharge with an excitation pulse repetition frequency of 19.5-25 kHz is carried out. The discharge conditions for achieving a maximum average output power on the UV lines-248.6, 252.9, 260.0, and 270.3 nm are found for each active zone diameter. A record average output power of 1.3 W is obtained for multiline operation. The specific average output power is 57 mW/cm³ at an active volume of 23 cm³. The highest peak pulse power and average laser power on the 248.6-nm laser line for the UV Cu⁺ lasers are also measured-3.25 and 0.85 W, respectively. A simplified kinetic model, which describes the discharge afterglow processes, is made     

Parametric study of the CuBr laser with hydrogen additives

A systematic investigation of the electric parameters of the CuBr laser plasma during the excitation pulse in their correlation to the laser output characteristics is presented. Based on the electric parameters, the temporal course is calculated of the electron density during the discharge. The authors offer a simple mechanism which generally explains how the hydrogen occurred in the copper vapor laser. The mechanism consists of shielding copper ionization by the process of electron detachment from negative hydrogen ions     

Copper bromide laser of 120-W average output power

A Ne-H₂-CuBr laser (λ510.6, 578.2 nm) is reported, which produced an average output power of 120 W at 2.5% efficiency (based on stored energy) and 100 W at 3% efficiency. These output power and efficiency figures are record values for copper bromide lasers. The sealed-off device produced maximum output power at a pulse recurrency frequency (PRF) of 17.5 kHz. Laser operating characteristics and electrical parameters are described     

A CuBr laser with 1.4 W/cm3 average output power

An average laser power of 6.7 W has been obtained from a small-bore CuBr laser with a constructive active volume of 4.77 cm³ , i.e., a record specific average power of 1.4 W/cm³ for multikilohertz operation of copper vapor lasers has been achieved. It was found that the small-bore CuBr laser can operate with a neon buffer at atmospheric pressures     

Sequentially Generated Second Order Quasi D-Optimal Designs for Experiments With Mixture and Process Variables

Second order designs for experiments with mixture and process variables are proposed. They are constructed on the basis of continuous D-optimal designs by use of a three-stage procedure for sequentially generating optimal designs. The determinants of the information matrices of the designs obtained are very near to those of continuous D-optimal designs. Tables of discrete quasi D-optimal designs for q + r ≤ 7 are given, where q is the number of mixture components and r is the number of process variables. The experimenter can choose the number of trials N within the interval k ≤ N ≤ min(2k, k + 20), where k is the number of model coefficients. An application of the proposed designs in an investigation of truck tire properties is given.     

UV lasing on Cu+ in a Ne-CuBr pulsed longitudinaldischarge

UV lasing on copper ion transitions in CuBr vapor laser has been obtained in a nanosecond pulsed longitudinal discharge with Brewster windows and external mirrors. A record small-signal gain per unit length has been achieved (up to 19%/m and 16%/m for the 238.6- and 270.3-nm transitions, respectively). Infrared (IR) laser action on Cu ions in a He-CuBr discharge and on Ag ions in a He-AgI (silver iodide) discharge has also been observed. A maximum average output power of 430 mW has been achieved multiline (740.4-780.8 nm) on the Cu+ IR transitions. A maximal gain of 58%/m has been obtained on the strongest 780.8-nm transition     

Modeling technique of capacitive discharge pumping of metal vapor lasers for electrode capacitance optimization

To estimate optimum gas discharge tube (GDT) electrode capacitance of metal vapor lasers (MVLs) pumped by a longitudinal capacitive discharge, we offer to use series connection of capacitors to the electrodes of a conventionally pumped GDT with inner electrodes. It has been demonstrated that the maximum output power in CuBr lasers is obtained when the capacitances of high-voltage and ground electrodes are equal. When using a model circuit an average output power reaches 12 W that suggests the possibility of generating high average output power (>10 W) in MVLs pumped using a capacitive discharge.     

Two-arm CuBr laser with a central electrode

A two-arm CuBr laser with a central electrode is reported. The laser produces maximum efficiency of 2.5% (at 42-W output power) and maximum output power of 47 W (at efficiency 2.35%). Some features of the excitation circuit and laser operation are given