Investigation of a power-stabilized high-current ion laser

An experimental study was made of the characteristics of an argon ion laser stabilized in respect of the discharge current (up to 400 A) and output power. The laser had a sectioned discharge tube 10 mm in diameter and a cold arc cathode. The current was stable to within 0.02% and the radiation power to within 0.04%. The current-voltage characteristics of the discharge were linear and the output radiation power increased right up to the currents at which a high-frequency plasma noise began to develop. The high stability of the current made it possible to increase the output power of the laser because the high-frequency plasma noise appeared only at high values of the discharge current.