Pulsed gas laser yields high power

Peak powers of over 50 watts have been achieved with a new pulsed gas laser at Martin-Orlando research laboratories, Baltimore, Md., and outputs in the kilowatt range may be imminent. The achievement of such output levels brings the gas laser from a low-power laboratory device into the intermediate power range with practical use as a system component for auto-tracking optical radars, reconnaissance systems, and missile guidance application. The Martin research effort is aimed at the development of optical radar.