Apparatus and method for synthesizing laser light characterized by a plurality of discrete wavelengths, without competition among different wavelengths. A preferred embodiment of the invention includes a laser resonator having an optical cavity bounded by a first, reflective end plate; a gas-filled chamber having a pair of Brewster windows, within the optical cavity; and a Brewster angle Pockels cell between one Brewster window and the partially reflective end plate. The laser resonator generate...

An ultraviolet radiation source associated with a suitable cathode-anode electrode structure, disposed in a gas-filled cavity of a high pressure pulsed laser, such as a transverse electric atmosphere (TEA) laser, to achieve free electron production in the gas by photoelectric interaction between ultraviolet radiation and the cathode prior to the gas-exciting cathode-to-anode electrical discharge, thereby providing volume ionization of the gas. The ultraviolet radiation is produced by a light sou...

A laser beam intensity regulator is disclosed for independently regulating the relative intensities of the coaxial monochromatic beams eminating from a multi-wavelength laser. First, the monochromatic beams are spatially separated. Utilizing the shift of a dielectric mirror's pass band towards lower wavelengths as the angle of incident beam thereon increases, the regulator described herein includes a rotatable dielectric mirror placed in the path of the monochromatic beam to be regulated. The wa...

A coaxial high repetition rate pulsed gas laser is provided, having a peak value pulse to pulse reproducibility better than 1% at a repetition rate of up to 400 Hz. This is accomplished by synchronizing the time evolution of the high tension laser electrode voltage with the gas break-down delay period in such a way that the laser output and stability are optimized.

Continuous wave (CW) output power from a gas transport laser is substantially increased by disposing a plurality of parallel cylindrically tubular cathodes in the main stream transversely of the direction of gas flow and spaced above a coextensive segmented anode in the opposite wall of the channel. Ballast resistors are connected between the cathodes, respectively, and the power supply to optimize the uniform arcless distribution of current passing between each cathode and the anode. Continuous...

A gas laser having a vacuum-tight discharge tube characterized by the discharge tube consisting of a glass cylinder whose two ends are closed by metal caps. Each of the metal caps support a mirror member which is connected to a transition member by a glass solder connection. A laser capillary which is made of glass has one end fused to the glass cylinder and has its other end supported by a spring which consists of a material which has a high heat resistance and may be hardened after assembly wi...

A Q-switching injection laser is disclosed which includes integral emitter and saturable absorber sections of the semiconductive body. In one embodiment the emitter and absorber sections are separated by an interface region implanted with ions of a type and amount to significantly increase the resistivity at the interface. Preferably, the implanted ions have energy levels spaced far enough from the conduction and valence bands of the semiconductive body such that charge carriers cannot be therma...

A self-triggering circuit for a gas-filled laser is disclosed. Electrical pulses which stimulate laser emission are applied to the laser cavity in response to an electrical energy change in the laser charging circuit when ionizing radiation is injected into the laser cavity. A semiconductor device of the type responsive to dv/dt, or of the type responsive to di/dt, is used as the self-triggering switch.

Distributed feedback devices such as distributed feedback lasers are modified by introduction of a central coupling strength discontinuity or other deviation from uniform nature of the distributed perturbations, in order to promote the transmission of oscillation of a single mode in preference over the nearest redundant modes. The class of deviations from uniform coupling strength may be mathematically termed antisymmetric deviations, because they are deviations about the midpoint of the perturb...

The invention relates to a laser generator device emitting at a wavelength of 1.3 microns. This device includes a laser oscillator with a neodymium-doped glass, an iodine gas amplifier disposed at the output of the oscillator and means for causing the emission of the oscillator to take place at a wavelength close to 1.3 microns. Application to the production of plasmas.