Kinetics of an optically pumped metastable Ar laser

Jiande Han; Michael C. Heaven; Gordon D. Hager; George B. Venus; Leonid B. Glebov

doi:10.1117/12.2045164

3 March 2014 Kinetics of an optically pumped metastable Ar laser

Jiande Han, Michael C. Heaven, Gordon D. Hager, George B. Venus, Leonid B. Glebov

Proceedings Volume 8962, High Energy/Average Power Lasers and Intense Beam Applications VII; 896202 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2045164
Event: SPIE LASE, 2014, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In recent studies, an optically pumped Ar*/He laser has been demonstrated using the Ar 4p[1/2]1→4s[3/2]2 transition at 912.55 nm. Time-resolved data for this system, recorded using CW laser excitation and pulsed discharge production of Ar* 4p[3/2]2, yielded laser output pulses that were of unexpectedly short duration. It was speculated that radiative relaxation from the upper laser level to the 4s[3/2]1 state (607 cm^-1 above 4s[3/2]2) caused termination of the laser pulse. In the present study this hypothesis has been tested by observing the energy transfer kinetics of the 4s[3/2]2 and 4s[3/2]₁ states in Ar/He gas mixtures. Following pulsed laser excitation out of 4s[3/2]2, population recovery was observed on a μs time scale. Energy transfer from 4s[3/2]₁ to 4s[3/2]₂, induced by collisions with He, was characterized. The rate constant was found to be (1.0±0.5)x10^-13 cm³ s^-1. These observations confirmed that radiative transfer to 4s[3/2]₁ was responsible for the short duration laser pulses. Modeling of a fully CW optically pumped Ar* laser shows that radiative transfer to 4s[3/2]₁ reduces the number density of the Ar* atoms involved in lasing, but is otherwise benign.

Citation Download Citation

Jiande Han, Michael C. Heaven, Gordon D. Hager, George B. Venus, and Leonid B. Glebov "Kinetics of an optically pumped metastable Ar laser", Proc. SPIE 8962, High Energy/Average Power Lasers and Intense Beam Applications VII, 896202 (3 March 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2045164

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