Abstract

Our experimental studies of the optical emission from the Cu-vapor laser indicate a breakup of laser pulse into oscillatory structures in certain conditions. We believe this phenomenon is similar to the optical ringing reported earlier.¹ We attribute this breakup of the pulse to cooperative effects involved in emission from the Cu-vapor laser.² This effect is further enhanced by propagation through the system. We earlier explained the high gain of Cu-vapor due to radiation trapping and Rabi oscillation between the ²P and ²S states.³ This analysis further shows that a large percentage of Cu atoms in the lasing medium are in the excited state (²P) most of the time. Therefore, there is a very low probability for total depletion of this level. This implies that the phenomena like gain switching and relaxation oscillation may not play a significant role in the breakup of the laser pulse. The oscillatory structures for both the 510.6-nm and 578.2-nm lines were strongly dependent on the changes in operating temperature. We observed the breakup of the pulse mainly around the temperature of 1600°C.

© 1985 Optical Society of America