Recombination laser
AssigneeBell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated
InventorsWilliam T. Silfvast, Obert R. Wood, II
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An efficient recombination laser comprises a resonant laser cavity, a gaseous laser material disposed in the cavity, and means for providing a plasma discharge in said laser material, which plasma discharge is confined to a cylindrical region along the axis of the laser cavity. The plasma in the gaseous laser material expands outward radially from the cylindrical region at the axis of the cavity and cools by interacting with the adjacent unexcited gas. The maximum laser gain is provided in an annular region, which annular region is adjacent to and surrounds the initial discharge cylindrical region. In one embodiment of the present invention, the means for providing the plasma discharge comprises two pin-type electrodes which extend into the cavity along the cavity axis.
Claims18
A recombination laser providing laser radiation which comprises:
- at least one resonant laser cavity including energy abstracting means;
- a laser material;
- and
- excitation means for generating from said laser material at least one plasma discharge confined to a cylindrical region, said at least one plasma discharge radially expanding into a second region, at least a portion of said second region being disposed in said at least one resonant laser cavity, said laser material being chosen such that a population inversion is produced therein by recombination of electrons and ions in said plasma.
A recombination laser providing laser radiation which comprises:
- at least one resonant laser cavity (3 and 4) including energy abstracting means;
- at least one thin wire of laser material (31) aligned substantially parallel to the axis of said at least one reasonant laser cavity;
- and
- excitation means (5) for applying a high-voltage, high-current pulse to said at least one thin wire to convert said at least one thin wire into a plasma, said at least one thin wire of laser material chosen such that a population inversion is produced therein by recombination of electrons and ions in said plasma.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.