Transversely Excited Atmospheric-pressure Research Articles

Transversely excited atmospheric-pressure copper-vapor laser

We report the results of the measurements of the performance parameters of the transversely excited atmospheric-pressure (TEA) copper-vapor laser (CVL). A specific laser energy density of 36 μJ/cm3 was achieved in an excited volume of 0.6×1×20 cm3. This corresponds to a specific power density of 3.6 kW/cm3 for a 10-ns pulse. Because of the high buffer gas pressure that can be used in the TEA-CVL, containment of the copper vapor in the heated zone can be maintained for an extended period, making a sealed system possible.

High Power Optically Pumped Far Infrared Lasers

Intense superradiant laser action in the far infrared (FIR) has been observed in several gases optically pumped with a CO/sub 2/ transversely excited atmospheric-pressure (TEA) laser. A maximum FIR power of 100 kW was observed from CH/sub 3/F at 496 mu m. Characteristics of the system and possibilities of scaling to higher powers are also discussed.

A pin-electrode atmospheric-pressure CO2laser

A 1.2-m-long transversely excited atmospheric-pressure (TEA) CO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> laser utilizing shower discharges is described and its operating characteristics as a function of voltage examined up to 60 kV. Pulse energies in excess of 2 J, peak powers in excess of 20 MW, and efficiencies up to 15 percent have been achieved.

FORWARD GOING FILAMENT IN SPARKS INDUCED BY 10.6-μ LASER RADIATION

An investigation of sparks produced in a number of gases by means of a transversely excited atmospheric-pressure (TEA) CO2 laser has revealed the existence of a clearly visible plasma filament which propagates at an almost constant velocity in the same direction as the laser beam.