Kinetics of recombination of copper atoms in copper halide vapor lasers

As a result of an analysis of experimental data from investigations of relaxation of the copper atom density in the afterglow of a pulsed discharge in copper halide vapor lasers, a mechanism of volume recombination of copper atoms is identified and the rate constant for recombination of copper atoms is determined for a wide range of operating temperatures. It is shown that in lasers operated at a high pulse repetition frequency, the dominant mechanisms of the loss of copper atoms in the discharge volume are diffusion and condensation on the walls of the tube. A model is proposed and calculations are made of the steady-state density distributions of copper atoms and copper halide molecules in the active zone of lasers operated at a high pulse repetition frequency.