Abstract:
The experimental results were explained by regarding the active element of a pulsed electron-beam-pumped semiconductor laser as an acoustic cell. Measurements were made of the divergence of the radiation emitted by a CdS laser pumped by pulses of 250 keV electrons of 1 and 10 ns duration. The watt-ampere characteristics of the output radiation were determined for crystals pumped through a slit aperture oriented along or across the crystallographic c axis. Measurements were made also of the dimensions of the damage zones in transversely pumped lasers when the energy of the pump pulses was varied. The results obtained were explained by the appearance of elastic strains in a crystal during and after the end of a pump pulse.