Experimental study of argon ion laser discharge at high current

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Abstract
Argon ion laser experiments have been performed in a large‐bore segmented metal plasma tube. The tube is capable of maintaining a steady‐state discharge current up to 500 A in low‐pressure argon without excessive contamination. The experimental results on the discharge and lasing characteristics agree with recent theory. So far the maximum visible laser output at high discharge current is not yet limited by resonance radiation trapping or other saturation effects, but rather by a low inversion‐utilization efficiency. A major cause of such low utilization efficiency is presently attributable to a severe optical degradation of the dielectric cavity mirrors when the internal‐radiation flux density exceeds a certain limit (i.e., a few kW/cm2).

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