Title

Demonstration Of A Diode-Pumped Metastable Ar Laser

Abstract

Pulsed lasing from optically pumped rare gas metastable atoms (Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) has been demonstrated previously. The laser relies on a three-level scheme, which involves the(n+1)p[5/2]3 and (n+1)p[1/2]1 states from the np5(n+1)p electronic configuration and the metastable (n+1)s[3/2]2 level of the np5(n+1)s configuration (Racah notation). Population inversions were achieved using relaxation from ((n+1)p[5/2]3 and (n+1)p[1/2]1 induced by collisions with helium or argon at pressures near 1 atm. Pulsed lasing was easily achieved using the high instantaneous pump intensities provided by a pulsed optical parametric oscillator excitation laser. In the present study we examine the potential for the development of a continuous wave (CW) optically pumped Ar laser. We report lasing of the 4p[1/2]1 → 4s[3/2]2 (912.547 nm) transition following CW diode laser excitation of the 4p[5/2] 3→4s[3/2]2 line (811.754 nm). A pulsed discharge was used to generate Ar 4s[3/2]2, and the time-resolved lasing kinetics provide insights concerning the radiative and collisional relaxation processes. © 2013 Optical Society of America.

Publication Date

12-15-2013

Publication Title

Optics Letters

Volume

38

Issue

24

Number of Pages

5458-5461

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.38.005458

Socpus ID

84890472242 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84890472242

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