Optical pumping of the XeF(C-A) and iodine 1.315-µm lasers by a compact surface discharge system

Brent A. Knecht; Richard D. Fraser; D. J. Wheeler; C. J. Zietkiewicz; Andrey Aleksandrovich Senin; Leonid D. Mikheev; Vitaly S. Zuev; J. Gary Eden

doi:10.1117/1.1624849

1 December 2003 Optical pumping of the XeF(C→A) and iodine 1.315-μm lasers by a compact surface discharge system

Brent A. Knecht, Richard D. Fraser, D. J. Wheeler, C. J. Zietkiewicz, Andrey Aleksandrovich Senin, Leonid D. Mikheev, Vitaly S. Zuev, J. Gary Eden

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 42, Issue 12, (December 2003). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1624849

Details are provided regarding the design, construction, and performance of a compact (≈0.6-m² footprint), single-channel surface discharge system and its application to optically pumping the XeF(C→A) and iodine atomic lasers in the blue-green (≈480 nm) and near infrared (1.315 μm), respectively. The system has a gain (active) length of ≈50 cm, and triggering the discharge requires no high-voltage or high-current switches. Measurements of the velocity of the photodissociation bleaching wave and the small-signal gain of the XeF(C→A) system are described. At 488 nm, the gain coefficient γ was found to be ≈0.3% cm^–1, a value comparable to those reported previously for systems dissipating considerably higher power per unit length. Single-pulse energies <50 mJ from the XeF(C→A) laser (≈485 nm) and <0.7 J on the 5p ²P_1/2→5p ²P_3/2 transition of atomic iodine at 1.315 μm have been obtained with nonoptimized resonator output couplings (5% and 10%, respectively). The rate of erosion of the dielectric surface has been measured to be ≈0.1 to 0.3 μm/shot for a glass ceramic dielectric, and the performance of two electrical configurations for the ballasting pins (feedthrough and V) is compared.

©(2003) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Brent A. Knecht, Richard D. Fraser, D. J. Wheeler, C. J. Zietkiewicz, Andrey Aleksandrovich Senin, Leonid D. Mikheev, Vitaly S. Zuev, and J. Gary Eden "Optical pumping of the XeF(C→A) and iodine 1.315-μm lasers by a compact surface discharge system," Optical Engineering 42(12), (1 December 2003). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1624849

Published: 1 December 2003

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