Pulse-periodic operation of a multicomponent semiconductor laser excited by an electron beam

An investigation was made of the parameters of a multicomponent cadmium sulfide laser pumped longitudinally with a high-power electron beam (electron energy 300–350 keV, energy per pulse 18 J, pulse duration 20 ns, pulse repetition frequency up to 52 Hz). The energy characteristics and their dynamics were determined using different cooling systems. The average power of the optical radiation was 1 W when the pulse repetition frequency was 32 Hz; 70% of the power was emitted within an angle of 30°. The laser could be operated continuously (without reduction in the output power) for 3 min at this repetition frequency. The reasons for changes in the output power in the case of periodic operation were analyzed. It was found that the main factors which affected the average power were accumulation of radiation defects caused by the action of the electron beam and the heating of the active element.