Mechanism of laser action in copper vapor

The lifetime of the lower active level of a decaying copper plasma laser was determined as a function of the nature and pressure of buffer gases. Pure inert (He, Ne, Ar) and molecular (CO₂, H₂) gases were employed. An equation for the determination of the lifetime of the lower laser level was obtained for self-terminating transitions. It was found that a collisional competition occurred between the transitions corresponding to the yellow and green lines in the spectrum.