Title :
1.27μm atomic argon laser parameters in fission-fragment excited He/Ar and He/Ne/Ar gas mixtures
Author :
Hebner, G.A. ; Hays, G.N.
Author_Institution :
Sandia Nat. Lab., Albuquerque, NM, USA
fDate :
8/1/1993 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The authors examine the power efficiency of the fission-fragment-excited atomic argon laser operating on the 1.27-μm (3d´[3/2]1-4´p[3/2]1) argon transition as a function of pump power, gas mixture, and pressure. The maximum measured power efficiency was 1.1±0.3% for a gas pressure of 1300 torr and a He/Ar ratio of 99.88/0.12. Neon addition to the He/Ar gas mixture increased both the energy deposited in the gas and the energy output without decreasing efficiency for a neon gas fraction of less than 0.5. Small-signal gain and saturation intensity are between 0.15-0.27%/cm and 25-200 W/cm2 for pump rates of 7.5-30 W/cm 3 in He/Ar and He/Ne/Ar gas mixtures. The laser threshold as a function of total pressure and argon concentration is presented
Keywords :
argon; gas lasers; gas mixtures; laser transitions; nuclear pumped lasers; 1.1 percent; 1.27 micron; 1300 torr; He-Ar; He-Ne-Ar; IR; argon concentration; argon transition; atomic argon laser parameters; energy deposited; energy output; fission-fragment excited; gas fraction; gas mixtures; gas pressure; laser threshold; laser transitions; power efficiency; pump power; pump rates; saturation intensity; small-signal gain; total pressure; Argon; Atom lasers; Atomic beams; Atomic measurements; Gas lasers; Helium; Laser excitation; Laser transitions; Power lasers; Pump lasers;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of