UV Nitrogen Laser Pumped by a Pulsed Longitudinal Inductive-Electric Discharge

Electric discharge nitrogen lasers are popular sources of UV radiation commonly used in many scientific and practical applications. Up-to-date commercial nitrogen lasers should meet several requirements, such as small overall dimensions, high pulse-to-pulse stability, and long service life. In this work, a nitrogen laser excited by a pulsed longitudinal inductive-electric discharge which meets these criteria is suggested. As a result of the experimental studies, lasing at the wavelengths λ₁ = 337.1 and λ₂ = 357.7 nm is obtained. The generation energy attains 0.67 mJ at a pulse duration of 20 ns (FWHM) and a nitrogen pressure of 7–8 Torr. Nitrogen pumping only by a longitudinal discharge in an experimental setup with similar parameters decreases the lasing energy to 0.4 mJ (at the same pulse duration) at a nitrogen pressure of no higher than 5 Torr. Nitrogen lasers with these radiation parameters can be used in treatment of ophthalmic diseases and tuberculosis.