Investigation of the saturation of the gain of an active gaseous medium by a monochromatic resonance field

An investigation was made of the saturation of the gain of a line with an intermediate type of broadening and allowance was made for the trapping of resonance radiation. An experimental method was developed for the determination of the saturation parameter. The values of this parameter were obtained for the 3.3912 and 3.3922 μ lines as a function of the pressure in a helium-neon mixture. The saturation parameters were found to be independent of the discharge current. The radiative widths of the levels 3p₂ and 3p₄ of Ne were determined.