Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Excited Argon 1s5 Production In Microhollow Cathode Discharges, Richard D. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Diode-pumped rare gas lasers (DPRGL) have been in development for their potential to become high energy lasers with excellent beam quality that is typical of gas lasers. DPRGL require metastable densities on the order of 10¹³ cm^-3 at pressures around one atmosphere for efficient operation. Argon 1s5 number densities have been measured in microhollow cathode discharges (MHCD) using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy. The MHCD had copper electrodes with gaps of 127 and 254 µm and hole diameters from 100-400 µm. Absorbance was measured at pressures of 37 Torr up to 400 Torr, where absorbance could no longer …