A longitudinal, discharge-heated copper vapor laser with an internal diameter of 4.2 cm and a length of 150 cm has been constructed. At the charging voltage of 14.5 kV, buffer gas pressure of 20 Torr, pulse repetition rate of 6.5 kHz, and laser tube temperature of 1450 °C; the laser offers an average power of 25 W with excellent stability and requires a minimum amount of maintenance.

The preionized metal vapor jet of a roomtemperature metal vapor laser Method for the preparation of protective coatings by lowtemperature metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) Rev. Sci.It is found that the appearance of high reverse-voltage spikes on the thyratron anode in the discharge of metal vapor lasers due to high laser impedances can easily be monitored by a dc current meter in series with the bypass inductor of the discharge circuit. Experiments are demonstrated using a copper vapor laser. Results show that the proposed impedance monitor is effective, reliable, and economical. The meter deflection corresponding to acceptable, wellbehaved thyratron operation can be obtained easily by the residual ionization-control method using a clean laser tube. By keeping the deflection within a specified limit, the lifetime of thyratron can greatly be extended.