Subnanosecond photodissociation atomic iodine laser

The Q factor of an iodine photodissociation laser was switched periodically by a quarter-wave Pockels cell. The voltage applied to the cell was produced by discharging a cable line and it represented a sequence of damped trapezoidal pulses with steep edges. The repetition period of the transmission maxima of the switch was equal to the round-trip time of the resonator. The gas mixture consisted of C₃F₇I (7–15 Torr) and Ar; the total pressure was 1 atm. A train of subnanosecond laser pulses consisting of 3–4 pulses was obtained. The total energy of the train was 10–20 mJ and the minimum duration of a single pulse was 0.4 nsec.