Theoretical analysis of the mechanisms of influence of hydrogen additions on the emission parameters of a copper vapour laser

A kinetic model of the active medium of a copper vapour laser with hydrogen additions is proposed. The model is tested using the available experimental data. Various points of view concerning the improvement of the emission parameters of the laser by adding hydrogen are analysed in detail. It is shown that the improvement of lasing parameters caused by the hydrogen addition is explained by different mechanisms. In the case of low pump-pulse repetition rates, the improvement is caused by an increase in the initial ground-state density of copper atoms and by quenching of the metastable states of copper atoms. When the pump-pulse repetition rate is high, the improvement is achieved due to a decrease in the prepulse electron concentration and temperature.