Characteristics of copper vapor laser output with radiation power 30-100 W

Abstract

A set of output characteristics of copper vapor lasers with an average power level of 30-100 watts is considered. The radiation parameters of active media have been optimized for power consumption, buffer gas pressure of neon and hydrogen, repetition rate, and pump pulse parameters. A thyratron version of the switch was used as a pump generator; its high-voltage modulator has been made according to the capacity voltage doubling scheme with magnetic compression of the current pulses. We shall also discuss the issues of modifying the design of laser tubes (diameter is 4.5 cm, active length is 1520 cm) and the relationship with their lifetime. The issues of modern applications of high-power laser systems based on copper vapor are considered.