Abstract Laser solids, liquids and gases are pumped by a new technique in which the output from an efficient molecular laser, such as a CO2 laser, ionizes a medium, such as xenon, into a generally cylindrical plasma volume, in proximity to the pumped laser body. Break-down yields a visible and ultraviolet-radiation-emitting plasma in that volume to pump the laser body. The spectral radiance of the plasma is significantly higher than that produced by a d-c-discharge-heated plasma at nearly all wavelengths in the plasma spectrum. The risetime of radiation from the laserproduced plasma can also be significantly shorter than that of a d-c heated plasma. A further advantage resides in the fact that in some applications the attenuating walls needed by flashlamps may be eliminated with the result that laser threshold is more readily reached. Traveling wave excitation may be provided by oblique incidence of the pumping laser beam through the ionizable medium to create sequential ionization of portions of that medium along the length of the pumped laser body.
Inventors
👤 William Thomas Silfvast
👤 Ii Obert Reeves Wood
Bibliographic Details
Application Number—
JurisdictionUS
Data Sourcegoogle_patents
Last Synchronized2026-11-08 02:19
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01S; H01S3/00; H01S3/09; H01S3/091
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim
98 words
Apparatus for the stimulated emission of coherent radiation, comprising a first body of material having a pair of optically connected energy levels between which a population inversion can be established, and means for optically pumping said body to establish said population inversion including means for supplying a quantity of a second material about said body, and laser means for creating a plasma in said quantity of said second material in a generally cylindrical volume substantially paralleling the surface of said body to generate visible and ultraviolet radiation from said volume, said plasma being optically closelycoupled with said body.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
98 words
Apparatus for the stimulated emission of coherent radiation, comprising a first body of material having a pair of optically connected energy levels between which a population inversion can be established, and means for optically pumping said body to establish said population inversion including means for supplying a quantity of a second material about said body, and laser means for creating a plasma in said quantity of said second material in a generally cylindrical volume substantially paralleling the surface of said body to generate visible and ultraviolet radiation from said volume, said plasma being optically closelycoupled with said body.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
63 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the optical pumping means includes a target having a surface adjacent to the first body of material, the laser means for breaking down a quantity of the second material including a source of a coherent infrared beam and means for cylindrically focusing said beam on said target surfaces essentially parallel the surface of the first body.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the target surface partially enfolds the first body of material and the quantity of a second material adjacent to the body to achieve confinement of the radiation from the plasma.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
46 words
Apparatus according to claim 2 including a vacuum chamber containing the first body and second material and the target surface, a vacuum pump for evacuating plasma products from said vacuum chamber, and dielectric means optically coupling the first body to the exterior of the vacuum chamber.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
109 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the laser means for creating a plasma in the quantity of the second material comprises a laser oriented to direct a beam of elongated cross-section obliquely in the plane of elongation toward the axis of the body of the first material and cylindrical means for focusing said beam to ionize said second material adjacent the body of the first material sequentially in adjacent regions in a direction paralleling said axis, the angle of obliqueness producing differing travel times of the light to a focus paralleling said axis, whereby a traveling wave of radiation is provided by the plasma in the second medium.