Pulsed Gas Lasers (SPIE Press Monograph Vol. PM17)

High-pressure gas lasers have been of unremitting interest to researchers and engineers for more than two decades. During this period, output power has reached hundreds of kilowatts in continuous operation, and their application range now includes laser thermonuclear fusion experiments, military purposes, communication and navigation systems, medicine, and remote gas analysis. This monograph presents the results of recent studies and is also complemented by the authors' research on CO2 oscillators and amplifiers with a high active medium, repetitively pulsed exciplex and CO2 lasers capable of operating in the sealed-off mode, and advances in the study of lasers operating by atomic transitions within the visible and adjacent bands. Contents: - The pulsed space gas discharge- Use of charged-particle radiation for pubping gas lasers- Gas preionization by electromagnetic radiator- Laser gas pumping by an electron beam- Mathematical modeling of high-pressure laser systems- Pulsed electroionization CO, lasers- TEA CO2 lasers- Exciplex lasers. General considerations. Lasers using electron-beam pumping and combined electron-beam/discharge pumping- Electric-discharge exciplex lasers- Near-IR, visible, and near-UV pulsed gas lasers