Kinetics of the active media of high-pressure metal-vapor lasers

This paper reviews theoretical and experimental investigations of the active media of high-pressure lasers with active media consisting of mixtures of inert gases and the vapor of group-II metals. The active media are pumped by hard ionizing agents: electron or ion beams or charged products of nuclear reactions (nuclear pumping). The physical origins of limitations on the laser power and efficiency of these active media with respect to injected energy are investigated. Detailed time-varying kinetic models are used under conditions of electron-beam and nuclear pumping to find the optimal conditions for lasing, along with the theoretical maximum output characteristics of high-pressure lasers operating on transitions of singly ionized metal atoms. The prospects for developing pulsed lasers using nuclear pumping are discussed.