Quasi-cw λ = 585.3 nm stimulated emission from Ne generated by pumping an Ne–H2 mixture with a low-energy electron beam

A study was made of the feasibility of obtaining λ = 585.3 nm stimulated emission from a Penning laser utilizing a mixture of Ne and H₂ excited by an electron beam generated by an open discharge. A quasi-cw output power of 2.5 W with an efficiency of 0.1% in terms of input energy was obtained in a cell 0.7 cm in diameter and 7.2 cm long. The maximum gain was 5.7 m ^– 1. The optimal ratio of components was p_Ne:p_H2 = 1:4 at a total pressure of 2.6–3 kPa, which differed from the conditions in discharges with a "hard component" and hollow-cathode discharges. Experiments using pairs of pump pulses showed that the laser could be converted to cw operation.