Abstract

A high-power copper bromide laser (CBL) is reported which utilizes a slow (0.5–1 1 atm hr⁻¹) flow Ne-HBr buffer gas to generate the metal halide by reaction of HBr with copper pieces in the laser active zone. In previous work, we established the technique as a practical means of operating a small (40 cm³ active volume) CBL to produce an average output power of 7.8 W.¹ The use of HBr as the source of bromine in the discharge obviates the need for the separate introduction of hydrogen (which increases the efficiency and output power of CBLs²).

© 1992 Optical Society of America