High flow metal halide vapor laser

Claim 3

A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein collisional dissociation and excitation are achieved by a current density discharge of about 50 to 500 amperes cm - 2 .

Claim 4

A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein a buffer gas is added to said enclosure.

Claim 5

A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein said current density discharge is about 100 amperes cm - 2 .

Claim 6

A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein in said metal halide is a copper halide selected from the group consisting of copper bromide, copper iodide, and copper chloride.

Claim 7

A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said electron energy is at least 2 eV.

Claim 8

A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said vapors are caused to flow in a closed loop after removal from said discharge region for reintroduction into said discharge region.

Claim 9

A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein said vapors are cooled during said closed loop flow.

Claim 10

A laser apparatus for obtaining pulsed metal vapor laser transitions at temperatures substantially below the metal vaporization temperature, said apparatus comprising: A. an enclosure; B. a metal halide of the desired metal within said enclosure; C. means for vaporizing said metal halide by heating said metal halide to a temperature not substantially in excess of that required to provide a high molecular vapor pressure and for transversely flowing said vapors at at least sonic velocities across a discharge region; D. means for maintaining a temperature not substantially greater than said vaporization temperature said maintained temperature being such as to prevent substantial thermal dissociation of said metal halide; E. means for collisionally dissociating, at said maintained temperature, the metal halide vapor with energized electrons for providing ground state metal atoms of sufficient number density to create resonance radiation trapping; F. means for creating a population inversion between a desired upper laser level and lower laser level of said metal by exciting ground state metal atoms with energized electrons and for maintaining a sufficient number of metal atoms in the ground state to preserve said resonance radiation trapping, substantially simultaneously with said collisional dissociation, said energized electrons havong a mean electron energy of at least that required to excite the upper laser level of said metal atom; G. means for maintaing said flow velocity to permit said excited metal atoms to remit laser radiation by stimulated emission to a lower laser level within said discharge region and to remove said lower level atoms from said discharge region; H. means for stimulating the emission of a beam of radiation from said inverted medium.

Claim 11

A laser apparatus for obtaining pulsed metal vapor laser transitions at temperatures substantially below the metal vaporization temperature, said apparatus comprising: A. an enclosure; B. a metal halide of the desired metal within said enclosure; C. means for vaporizing said metal halide by heating said metal halide to a temperature not substantially in excess of that required to provide a high molecular vapor pressure and for transversely flowing said vapors at at least sonic velocities across a discharge region; D. means for maintaining a temperature not substantially greater than said vaporization temperature said maintained temperature being such as to prevent substantial thermal dissociation of said metal halide; E. means for collisionally dissociating, at said maintained temperature, the metal halide vapor with energized electrons for providing ground state metal atoms of sufficient number density to create resonance radiation trapping; F. means for creating a population inversion between a desired upper laser level and lower laser level of said metal by exciting ground state metal atoms with energized electrons and for maintaining a sufficient number of metal atoms in the ground state to preserve said resonance radiation trapping, substantially simultaneously with said collisional dissociation, said energized electrons havong a mean electron energy of at least that required to excite the upper laser level of said metal atom; G. means for maintaing said flow velocity to permit said excited metal atoms to remit laser radiation by stimulated emission to a lower laser level within said discharge region and to remove said lower level atoms from said discharge region; H. means for stimulating the emission of a beam of radiation from said inverted medium.

Claim 12

A laser as set forth in claim 9 wherein said enclosure is in the form of a closed loop having an inlet opening and a discharge nozzle, said inlet and nozzle being in communication with said discharge region.

Claim 13

An apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein said closed loop includes a means for cooling metal halide vapor and a means for pumping said vapor.

Claim 14

An apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein said discharge nozzle is a sonic nozzle.