Nuclear-pumped laser operating in the master oscillator — amplifier regime

The efficiency of a master oscillator — amplifier scheme and the possibility of its using in multichannel nuclear-pumped laser systems are studied. The small-signal gain and saturation parameter are measured for the He:Ar:Xe = 380:380:1 mixture at a pressure of 1 atm at a wavelength of 2.03 μm. It is shown that the small-signal gain increases linearly with the specific pump power density and achieves 1.1 — 1.2 m^-1 at a pump density of 40 W cm^-3. The saturation parameter is almost independent of the pump power and is equal to 70 — 90 W cm^-2. It is found that at the pump-pulse maximum (40 W cm^-3) the laser radiation power increases after amplification by 100%.