Argon laser quenching, dark spaces, and deexcitation mechanisms

Abstract
A model for quenching of the ArII laser oscillation is presented that compares collisional and radiative deexcitation processes. High electron densities (1015 cm−3) in the quenching regime indicate that collisional effects mask the radiation-trapping mechanisms in a radially dependent way. An analytic solution to the radiation-trapping model is found and estimates of the hole or dark space radius indicated.