Abstract

A pulsed cross-field molecular nitrogen laser (3371 Å) has been simply constructed from two plate glass strips 5 cm by 1.2 m. During operation twenty 500-pF capacitors evenly spaced along the channel are charged from a 0.012-μF storage capacitor by a thyratron at up to 30 Hz. This distributed charge is available for discharge when the gas breakdown starts. The flowing gas laser produces a 160-kW, 10-nsec (full-width half-maximum) light pulse when operated at 15 kV and at a pressure of 20 Torr. The laser has successfully pumped a tunable dye laser.

© 1973 Optical Society of America

Improvements to a home-built nitrogen laser

Mark Feldman, Paul Lebow, Fred Raab, and Harold Metcalf
Appl. Opt. 17(5) 774-777 (1978)

Tuned Nitrogen Laser Pumped Dye Laser

G. Capelle and D. Phillips
Appl. Opt. 9(12) 2742-2745 (1970)

Coaxial Marx-Bank Driver and Flashlamp for Optical Excitation of Organic Dye Lasers

Theodore F. Ewanizky and Roland H. Wright
Appl. Opt. 12(1) 120-122 (1973)

Optical Pumps for Organic Dye Lasers

H. W. Furumoto and H. L. Ceccon
Appl. Opt. 8(8) 1613-1623 (1969)

Prepulse Enhancement of Flashlamp Pumped Dye Laser

Michael H. Ornstein and Vernon E. Derr
Appl. Opt. 13(9) 2100-2104 (1974)