High-efficiency laser emitting short pulses and pumped by coaxial flashlamp

An experimental investigation was made of the characteristics of a coaxial flashlamp and of the parameters of a neodymium glass laser pumped by this lamp. The use of such a lamp in pumping an active element 45 mm in diameter and 920 mm long made it possible to obtain laser pulses of 250 μsec duration and 660 J energy with an efficiency of 3.3%. Increase of the pulse duration raised the maximum laser energy and efficiency.