Open AccessExamination of potassium diode pumped alkali laser using He, Ar, CH_4 and C_2H_6 as buffer gas
Author(s) -
B. V. Zhdanov,
Matthew D. Rotondaro,
M. K. Shaffer,
R. J. Knize
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.030793
Subject(s) - buffer gas , lasing threshold , potassium , materials science , helium , alkali metal , diode , torr , laser , methane , optics , optical pumping , analytical chemistry (journal) , atomic physics , chemistry , optoelectronics , physics , organic chemistry , chromatography , metallurgy , thermodynamics
We examined the performance of a potassium diode pumped alkali laser (K DPAL) using He, Ar, CH 4 , C 2 H 6 and a mixture of He and CH 4 as a buffer gas to provide spin-orbit mixing of the 4P 3/2 and 4P 1/2 states of Potassium atoms. We found that pure helium cannot be used as an efficient buffer gas for continuous wave lasing without using a flowing system with a considerable flow speed of about 100 m/s. In contrast, using a small amount of methane (10-20 Torr) mixed with helium, continuous wave lasing can be achieved using very moderate flow speeds of about 1 m/s.