Comparison of the characteristics of copper, copper chloride, and copper bromide vapor lasers

The results are given of a comparative study of the characteristics of copper and copper halide vapor lasers, excited by regular pulses. It was found that the lasing characteristics of copper chloride and copper bromide vapor lasers were practically identical, both under excitation conditions which correspond to the optimal efficiency and under other excitation conditions, and that they differed from those of a copper vapor laser. An average output power of $\thicksim13$ W was obtained and an efficiency of 1% were obtained for all these lasers. The indications are that the advantage of employing a particular type of laser will be mainly determined in practice by the convenience of using the given design to solve a specific problem.