Influence of the active zone diameter, on the UV-ion Ne-CuBr laser performance

An active-zone-diameter scanning of an ultraviolet (UV) Cu/sup +/ laser excited in a nanosecond, pulsed longitudinal Ne-CuBr discharge with an excitation pulse repetition frequency of 19.5-25 kHz is carried out. The discharge conditions for achieving a maximum average output power on the UV lines-248.6, 252.9, 260.0, and 270.3 nm are found for each active zone diameter. A record average output power of 1.3 W is obtained for multiline operation. The specific average output power is 57 mW/cm/sup 3/ at an active volume of 23 cm/sup 3/. The highest peak pulse power and average laser power on the 248.6-nm laser line for the UV Cu/sup +/ lasers are also measured-3.25 and 0.85 W, respectively. A simplified kinetic model, which describes the discharge afterglow processes, is made.