An investigation of the effect of an axial magnetic field on the He-Cd+laser

The drastic effect that a weak axial magnetic field can have upon the output of an He-Cd+ metal vapor laser is reported. A 37-percent increase in output power has been observed for a tube current of 55 mA and magnetic field strength of 70 G. Also described are parametric and spectroscopic studies performed to elucidate the cause of the large power output change.