Relaxation of the 4s2 2D5/2 metastable level of the copper atom in the afterglow of a pulsed discharge in a copper vapor laser

The method of resonance absorption of the 510.6 nm line was used to determine the density n_m of the 4s^{2 2}D_5/2 metastable level of the copper atoms during the interpulse periods of a Cu laser, in the neon buffer gas pressure range of 10–50 kPa. At pressures exceeding 10 kPa an increase in n_m was observed (following rapid decay) over a period 5–10 μsec after the current pulse. A numerical solution of the problem of relaxation of the plasma parameters showed that the complex nature of the variation in n_m can be explained by a combination of a number of processes including recovery of the concentration of the copper atoms in the ground state and relaxation of the temperature and density of the electrons.