Vacuum ultraviolet H2 laser with a sealed gas-discharge cell

An H₂ laser utilizing the Lyman transitions in the region of 161 nm was constructed. It had a sealed working cell and emitted pulses of energies up to 5 μJ with an average power up to 0.1 mW. Glass and ceramic cells with a hydrogen generator were used. The laser parameters were optimized by reducing the wave impedances of the laser cell and storage line.