High-End State-of-Art Copper Bromide Vapor Lasers: Optical, Electric and Thermal Properties

Abstract

Copper bromide vapor laser is the most successful sealed-off version of a plenty of copper vapor lasers launched, studied and produced for the last half of century. Being first reported in 1975, it became the leading and long-lasting R&D&T project followed by the Laboratory of metal vapor lasers in Institute of solid state physics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences ever since. This manuscript gathers major research & development results of the last studies unfolding unexplored and unknown optical, electric and thermal properties of CuBr laser held in the Laboratory of metal vapor lasers during foregoing 20+ years. Some of these new aftermaths are record-high power, efficiency and lifetime of CuBr laser; comprehensive studies of energy dissipation and dynamics of the electric field of CuBr laser; achievement of high-brightness diffraction-limited throughout-pulse emission of master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) CuBr laser and high focusability of CuBr laser emission low-affected by beam profile intensity variations.