Optically pumped alkali laser and amplifier using helium-3 buffer gas

A laser oscillator, comprising:

• an optical cavity including:
• a gain medium including an alkali vapor and a buffer gas, the buffer gas including 3He gas and 4He gas, wherein a ratio of the concentration of the 3He gas to the 4He gas is greater than 1.37×10−6;
• and
• an optical excitation source;
• wherein the laser oscillator is capable of outputting radiation at a first frequency,
• wherein the buffer gas includes at least 90% 3He gas.

A laser oscillator, comprising:

• an optical cavity including:
• a gain medium including an alkali vapor and a buffer gas, the buffer gas including 3He gas and 4He gas, wherein a ratio of the concentration of the 3He gas to the 4He gas is greater than 1.37×10−6;
• and
• an optical excitation source;
• wherein the laser oscillator is capable of outputting radiation at a first frequency,
• wherein the buffer gas includes at least 99% 3He gas.

A method, comprising:

• providing a gain medium including an alkali vapor for an optical cavity;
• providing a buffer gas including 3He gas and 4He gas for the optical cavity, wherein a ratio of the concentration of the 3He gas to the 4He gas is greater than 0.001;
• and
• providing an optical excitation source for emitting pump radiation at a first wavelength, for optically pumping the gain medium at a wavelength of a D2 transition of the alkali vapor to generate laser radiation emission output at a second wavelength.

An apparatus, comprising:

• an optical cavity including:
• a gain medium including an alkali vapor;
• and a buffer gas including 3He gas and 4He gas, wherein a ratio of a concentration of the 3He gas to the 4He gas is greater than 0.001;
• and
• an optical excitation source;
• wherein the apparatus is capable of outputting radiation at a first frequency.