Investigation of degradation of electron-beam-pumped cadmium sulfide lasers

An investigation was made of the degradation effects of the emitted radiation and of 50 keV electron-beam pumping on the emission characteristics of CdS lasers. Catastrophic and gradual degradation processes in CdS crystals were studied. An analysis was made of the mechanism of charging of the impurity centers, which was responsible for the instability of the output power, and of the "potential displacement" of sulfur atoms from regular sites in the CdS lattice, which reduced the internal quantum efficiency.