High power operation of a CW 28 μm water vapor laser

This paper describes the best operating conditions and power performance of a CW 28 μm water vapor laser, using a 3 m long discharge in a 3 cm diameter Pyrex glass tube. The laser cavity is a half symmetric conventional Fabry-Perot resonator, the plane mirror of which is a metal mesh used as an output coupler. The addition of a large amount of hydrogen to the water vapor leads to the production of high power laser emission. This laser delivers 230 mW of continuous output at 28 μm, corresponding to a volumetric power of 102 μW/cm³, the highest value ever reported.