Submillimeter pulse laser for diagnostics of optically dense plasmas

A submillimeter pulse laser emitting at λ = 337 μ from a mixture of methane and nitrogen and at λ = 118 μ. from water vapor was constructed. The pulse repetition frequency was up to 30 Hz. A tungsten-silicon point-contact detector was used to determine the shape and duration of the laser pulses (the latter was in the range 10–50 μsec). A bolometer (described in the paper) was used in measurements of the average submillimeter power. Without optimization the power per pulse was 25 W at λ = 337 μ when the pulse duration was 10 μsec but at λ = 118 μ the power was 3 times lower. The laser was designed for diagnostics of optically dense plasmas.