Abstract

In a number of high-pressure, pulsed gas lasers, neutralization occurs after excitation of the gas charge in the form of a three-body ion-electron dissociative recombination reaction. The atoms involved may be in an excited state after the dissociation. The high-pressure atomic rare-gas laser, pumped by a beam of high-energetic electrons, is a typical example of this class of lasers. Efficient lasers with a high output power in the near IR, however, can be realized by a combination of direct e-beam excitation and an electrical discharge in multiatmospheric rare gases.

© 1991 Optical Society of America