Effect of addition of H2 to the He buffer gas on amplifying parameters and output power of a copper bromide laser

Abstract

A pair of copper bromide lasers in an oscillator–amplifier configuration was used to investigate the effect of the addition of hydrogen to the helium buffer gas on the small-signal gain (g0), saturation energy intensity (Es) and output power (Pout) of the laser. The addition of a small amount of hydrogen to the He buffer gas in a CuBr laser caused approximately doubling of the amplifying parameters and average output power of the amplifier. The amplifying parameters and output power of the system were measured at different input electrical powers of the amplifier, and optimum input powers of 1.75 and 1.65 kW were obtained for He and He–H2 gases, respectively. The maximum g0, Es and Pout achieved are 0.068, 0.090 ; 47.6, 77.1 and 9.8, 20.9 W, respectively, using He and the He–H2 admixture. It was concluded that using He with H2 was more efficient and produced higher output power than using pure He in the CuBr lasers.