Multisectional active element with longitudinal excitation for self-terminating lasers

A new scheme of longitudinal excitation of a multisectional active element for self-terminating lasers is proposed and applied to a copper vapor laser. The main feature of the proposed method of excitation is the sequential operation of sections in the active element (domino effect). The triggering of all sections is effected by one thyratron. The average lasing power and the efficiency of multisectional excitation are 1.4 times higher as compared to the case of a single section mode (for the same volumes of laser tubes). The optimum pressure of a buffer gas for the multisectional excitation has proved to be five times that for a single-section mode.