Active element utilizing copper vapor for high-power master-oscillator-amplifier laser systems

An investigation was made of the main characteristics of the active element of a prototype laser utilizing copper vapor and having an active medium of 350 cm³ volume and constructed using components from a commercial GL-201 (250 cm³) laser. The total average radiation powers from lasers operating in the master-oscillator regime, with a plane–plane or a plane–spherical resonator, were 30 and 35 W, respectively, at efficiencies of 0.8–0.9%. In the amplifier regime (in a laser system consisting of a master oscillator, a spatial filter, a collimator, and a power amplifier) the use of a GL-201 laser as the master oscillator ensured an output power of 54 W at an efficiency of 1.3%. The total output power of the system was 60 W at an efficiency of 0.8% and the beam divergence was close to the diffraction limit.