Abstract

Significant increases in the output power and efficiency of copper vapor lasers (CVLs) have been observed by admixing small traces of hydrogen to the neon buffer gas.^1,2 While the observed improvement in laser operation may be partially attributed to improved impedance matching increasing the power deposited in the CVL gain medium, this is not the only effect and many questions remain as to how the Н₂ admixture affects the detailed laser kinetics.

© 1993 Optical Society of America