Measurements of intrinsic efficiency and parameters of an electron beam pumped ArXe laser

Author

Watterson, R.L. ; Jacob, J.H.

Author_Institution

Sci. Res. Lab. Inc., Somerville, MA, USA

Volume

26

Issue

3

fYear

1990

fDate

3/1/1990 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

417

Lastpage

422

Abstract

Measurements of the output energy and intrinsic efficiency of an electron-beam-pumped ArXe laser operating on the 1.73-μm line are reported. A 220-kV electron beam was used to pump either an 11×11×50 cm³ or an 11×11×25 cm³ active volume. Small-signal gain, nonsaturable loss, and saturation flux were deduced from a Rigrod analysis of the output energies as a function of output coupler reflectivity. Electron beam pump powers ranging from 2.2 to 16.2 kW/cm³ were employed. At a pump power of 2.2 kW/cm³ a small signal of 0.035 cm^-1, a gain-to-loss ratio of 272, and a saturation flux of 2.1 kW/cm ² were determined. Intrinsic efficiencies of 4% were obtained at the lower pump powers. From the measurements of the laser output it is clear that the secondary electrons have a significant impact on the laser kinetics and efficiency

Keywords

argon; electron beam applications; gas lasers; optical couplers; optical losses; optical saturation; reflectivity; xenon; 1.73 micron; 11 cm; 2.2 to 16.2 kW; 220 kV; 25 cm; 4 percent; 50 cm; Rigrod analysis; active volume; beam pump powers; electron beam; electron beam pumped ArXe laser; gain-to-loss ratio; intrinsic efficiency; laser intrinsic efficiency measurement; laser kinetics; laser output measurement; nonsaturable loss; output coupler reflectivity; output energy; saturation flux; secondary electrons; small-signal gain; Cathodes; Electron beams; Electron optics; Gas lasers; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Laser transitions; Optical pulses; Pump lasers; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.52116

Filename

52116