Lasing characteristics and plasma parameters of high-current argon lasers

The conditions are determined for a long (l$\gtrsim$2 m) 16-mm diameter high-current discharge to be homogeneous. Such a discharge was used to obtain a laser output power of about 100 W as the ultraviolet lines of an Ar$^{++}$ laser and of more than 350 W as the visible lines of an Ar$^+$ laser. The behavior of the active level populations and of the plasma characteristics was investigated as a function of the external parameters of the high-current discharge and conclusions were drawn concerning the influence of different processes on the dynamics of the inverted population variations.