Bleaching-wave laser excited by radiation from magnetoplasma compressors

A bleaching-wave laser (utilizing an ether solution of coumarin 6 and 1,4-diphenylbutadiene) was pumped by a flashlamp-type source utilizing magnetoplasma compressors. When the bleaching wave propagated in the solution at a velocity of ~ 1 km/s, cw lasing was obtained for 30–40 μs with an output energy of 1.2 J in the 517 ± 5 nm range. Estimates were made of the threshold pump intensity and of the internal losses in the bleaching-wave laser. It was found that, compared with a laser without a bleaching wave (utilizing an ethyl solution of coumarin 6), a bleaching wave improved greatly (under the same excitation conditions) the output energy and the directionality of the radiation.