Copper lasers are the highest efficiency high average power visible lasers (510.6 and 578.2 nm). The most efficient of them all is the copper hybrid laser, which has been demonstrated to produce 200 W average power with 1.9% efficiency. The prospects for increasing the average output power from single or double tube devices into the kilowatt regime are discussed. With practically no plasma skin effect, a long gain duration (approximately 100 ns), and rapid plasma relaxation between pulses, copper lasers with hydrogen halide additives (hybrid lasers) hold promise for scaling in tube bore, active length and PRF to kilowatt average output powers with efficiencies of approximately 2%, and approximately 600 W at 3.5% efficiency.

Date Published: 4 April 1997
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 3092, XI International Symposium on Gas Flow and Chemical Lasers and High-Power Laser Conference, (4 April 1997); doi: 10.1117/12.270145

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3092:
XI International Symposium on Gas Flow and Chemical Lasers and High-Power Laser Conference
Denis R. Hall; Howard J. Baker, Editor(s)