1-W cw Zn ion laser
Date
1983
Authors
Meyer, J. D., author
Rocca, Jorge J., author
Collins, G. J., author
American Institute of Physics, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
We have obtained 1.2W of cw laser power on the 4911.6- and 4924.0-Å transitions of Zn II by exciting a He-Zn gas mixture with a dc glow discharge electron beam. In addition, 0.25-W output power has been obtained on the 6149.9-Å line of Hg+ using the same excitation scheme. The combination of electron beam ionization of rare gas atoms and subsequent charge transfer excitation to metal ion levels is shown to have the potential of significantly increasing the efficiency of ion lasers. cw multiwatt visible and ultraviolet ion lasers operating at efficiencies > 10-3 appear feasible using this excitation scheme.