Excitation efficiency of working transitions in copper-vapor lasers

The conditions under which the influence of the discharge circuitry inductance on the efficiency of pulsed-periodic copper-vapor lasers is weak are determined. It is shown that for efficient pumping of the lasing transitions of Cu atom in these lasers it is advisable to form an excitation pulse having steep edges of the voltage applied to the discharge tube with the duration spanning the pumping period and termination of the lasing process providing, at the same time, the conditions for aperiodic behavior of the discharge during the excitation pulse. Such a pumping pulse can be formed due to a partial discharge of the storage capacitor in the laser discharge circuit. It is also shown that under such conditions of excitation the efficiency of copper-vapor laser (CVL) with respect to the energy pumped into the active element can reach 10%.