The Nitrogen Ion Laser
Abstract
The characterization of the nitrogen ion laser pumped by charge transfer from He2(+) is reported in this work. Intense laser emission in the violet at 427 nm has been observed and found to have a linewidth less than 0.3 A. The pumping ion, He2(+), was produced by discharge of a fast-pulsed electron beam gun, APEX-1, into several atmospheres of a mixture of helium and nitrogen. Excitation current densities were 1.4 KA/sq cm at 1 MV over a 1 x 10 cm transverse geometry. Under these conditions, the efficiency of the emission of 427 nm laser radiation was found to be proportional to the total pressure raised to the 1.2 power. Efficiencies of 1.6% relative to the energy lost by the electron beam in the radiating volume have been achieved in volumes of 16 cc. Outputs of 35 mJ have been obtained from the 16 cc working volume at 30 atm pressure.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 31, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA036336
Entities
People
- Austin J. Cunningham
- Carl B. Collins
Organizations
- University of Texas at Dallas