Dependences of small-signal gain and saturation-energy intensity on laser active length, buffer-gas type, and pressure variations in gold-vapor lasers

We measure the small-signal gain coefficient g ₀ and the saturation-energy intensity E _s of a gold-vapor laser by implementing an oscillator-amplifier on the base of the gold-vapor laser. The dependence of the gain and saturation properties of the laser on the length of the laser active medium, the buffer-gas pressure, and the buffer-gas type are studied. The measurements of g ₀ for the amplifier for different lengths of the laser active medium (60 and 75 cm) show that with increase in the active-medium length, g ₀ increases while E _s, vice versa, decreases. Such behavior of g ₀ and E _s is observed in the whole range of changing the total pressure of buffer gas in the He-Ne mixture.