<title>A sealed-off strontium vapor laser</title>

Abstract

A sealed-off strontium-vapor laser for medical applications is examined. This is an integrated system that accommodates an excitation circuit, a laser cavity, and an active element. The active medium is excited by means of a modified Blumlein circuit. An unstable resonator of the telescopic type allows a near-diffraction-limited laser beam to be generated. Lasing is obtained in atomic strontium lines at λ=2.06, 2.2, 2.69, 2.92, 3.011, and 6.45 μm and in ionic strontium lines at λ=1.033 and 1.091 μm. We have studied experimentally the behavior of spectral distribution of the output power at varying power delivered to the discharge. It is found that 95% of laser radiation is concentrated in the line at λ=6.456 μm, which corresponds to a lasing power of ~ 2.5 W. Moreover, the time characteristics of lasing pulses are investigated. The radial inhomogeneity of the laser beam is examined. We have conducted lifetime testing of Sr-vapor active elements. The average output power exhibits a modest decrease (5%) within 300 h of a continuous operation. Notably, the pumping characteristics remain unchanged.