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`H91
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`{Ill
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`3,900,803
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`[451 Aug. 19, 1975
`Silfvast et al.
`
`
`[54] LASERS OPTICALLY PUMPED BY
`LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA
`
`[753
`
`Inventors: William Thomas Silfvast: Obert
`Reeves\Vo0dll.bod1ofll0hndel
`Twp., Monmouth County. NJ.
`
`[73] Assignee: Bell Telephone Laboratories.
`Incorporated, Murray Hill. NJ‘
`
`122]
`
`Filed:
`
`Apr. 24, I974
`
`[2l] Appl. No.1-163.616
`
`
`331/9-1.Sl’:33()/4.3
`[52] US. Cl. .................... AK
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`. . . . . . . . . .. H018 3/09
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`[51]
`Int. Cl.‘-’ . . . .
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`Field of Search.”................... 331/9451331)/4.3
`I58]
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`[56]
`
`3.l(w4.782
`?~.X‘_’l .66!)
`
`References Cited
`UNITED STATES PATENTS
`
`l/N65 Ordway. Jr.................... . 33l/94.5 P
`6/I974
`Shang et al .................... . 33l/94,5 P
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Furumotn ct a|.. Optical Pumps for Organic Dye La-
`sers. Applied Optics. Vol. 8, N0. 8. (August 1969),
`pp.
`l6l3—lf>23.
`
`Primary l:'.\‘umim'r—William L. Sikcs
`.—lIrurnz'_\'. Agent. or Firm—-Wilford L. Wisner
`
`[57 ]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Laser solids. liquids and gases are pumped by a new
`technique in which the output from an efficient mo-
`lecular laser. such as 21 CO._. laser.
`ionizes a medium.
`such as xenon. into a generally cylindrical plasma vol-
`ume.
`in proximity to the pumped laser body. Break«
`down yields a visible and ultraviolet-radiutiomemitting
`plasma in that volume to pump the laser body. The
`spectral radiance of the plasma is significantly higher
`than that produced by a d-c—dischargc-heated plasma
`at nearly all wavelengths in the plasma spectrum The
`risetimc of radiation from the laser-produced plasma
`can also be significantly shorter than that of a d—c
`hcatcd plasma. A further advantage resides in the fact
`that in some applications the attenuating walls nccdctl
`by tlashlamps m'.i_\' be eliminated with the result that
`laser
`threshold is more readily l'C'dL‘l1L‘Li. Trawling
`waive excitation niay he provided h_\' uhliquc incidence
`of the pumping laser beam through the ionimhlc me-
`dium to create sequential im1i'/.;xtion of portions of that
`medium along the length of the pumped laser bod)‘.
`
`5 Claims. I2 I)r-airing Figures
`
`
`
`DETECTOR
`
`MASKING
`73 MATERIAL
`FLASHLAMP
`
`
`
`ASML 1010
`ASML 1010