Excited argon ls_5 production in micro-hollow cathode discharges for use as potential rare gas laser sources

摘要

The diode-pumped rare gas laser (DPRGL) has been suggested as a potential high-gain, high-energy laser which requires densities on the order of 1013 cm"3 at. pressures around 1 atmosphere for efficient, operation. Argon 1s_5 number densities have been measured in micro-hollow cathode discharges with electrode gaps of 127 and 254 μm and hole diameters from 100-400 μm. The dependency of the metastable argon (1s_5) density on total gas pressure, electrode gap distance and hole diameter were explored. The measured densities were all in the range of 0.5－ 2 × 10~(13) cm~(-3) with the 400 μm hole diameters being the lowest.