Abstract

Utilizing the ionisation non-equilibrium regime of a pulsed electric discharge containing a metal vapour/rare gas mixture, a population inversion between the resonance levels and lower lying metastable levels in the metal ion can be established, resulting in lasting action on several visible and IR transitions (BaII 614.2nm & 649.7nm [1], Sr II 103nm & 1092nm[2]). In this paper, a detailed computer model has been used to investigate the feasibility of generating pulsed laser action on analogous (UV) transitions in Cu II, corresponding to the 3d⁹4p and 3d⁹4s (metastable) level manifolds. The model was originally developed to simulate the discharge kinetics in a conventional pulsed copper-vapour laser (CVL) operating at 510.6 nm and 578.2nm [3].

© 1996 Optical Society of America