Pulsed barium vapor laser operating in the self-heating regime

The results are presented of investigations of a barium vapor laser operating in the self-heating regime which were aimed at identifying the effects of the parameters of the excitation system (supply power, discharge capacitance, rectifier voltage, etc.) on the laser output characteristics. The electrical characteristics of the excitation pulses were studied in detail. The lasing efficiency, calculated with respect to the energy coupled into the discharge by the end of a lasing pulse, was found to exceed the practical efficiency by a factor of three. A discussion is given of the processes governing the temperature range in which lasing occurred.