A comprehensive, up-to-date review of the physics and applications of a major class of laser, the most important example of which is the copper vapour laser. A collection of 50 papers written by the world's leaders in the field. Papers cover: the early history of pulsed metal vapour lasters; the plasma kinetics and excitation mechanisms of self terminating and recombination metal vapour lasers; beam quality issues for applications; frequency harmonic generation for mid-UV applications; high-precision processing of metals, ceramics, glasses and plastics using metal vapour lasers; applications in medicine, including oncology and dermatology; applications in science such as spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. A practical source of information on the physics, engineering and applications of metal vapour lasers.
Audience: scientists, teachers and graduate researchers working in the fields of gas lasers, laser optics, gas discharges, optoelectronics and laser applications in industry, science and medicine.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
1. Historical Viewpoints. - Pulsed metal vapor lasers: past and future. - Copper lasers in the beginning. - 2. Physics of Pulsed Metal Vapour Lasers. - Copper laser kinetics a comparative study. - Kinetics of metal vapour and metal halide lasers. - Kinetics of metal ion recombination lasers. - Experimental studies of CVL kinetics. - Physics of transverse-discharge copper vapour lasers. - Investigation of bismuth vapour lasers. - 3. Laser Characteristics and Operation. - Plasma parameters of metal vapour lasers. - High-power copper vapour lasers and applications. - Copper bromide lasers. - Metal HyBrID lasers. - Output limiting mechanisms and the prospects for metal vapour lasers with average output power above 1 kW/m. - Strontium and calcium ion recombination lasers and their applications. - The effects of impurities on metal vapour laser performance. - Influence of hydrogen on the kinetics of copper bromide lasers. - MVL parameter management through electron plasma component. - Novel circuits for the excitation of metal vapour lasers. - Novel low-temperature pulsed metal-vapour lasers the high-voltage segmented hollow-cathode metal ion laser. - Measurement of hot spots in copper vapour lasers. - 4. Modelling Metal Vapour Lasers. - Computer modelling of longitudinally excited elemental copper vapour lasers. - Impedance matching and electric field penetration in metal vapour lasers. - Physical consequences of the rapid drop of the electron temperature in copper vapour laser (CVL). - 5. Optical Resonators and Beam Quality. - Beam quality issues in CVL applications. - Beam quality issues in copper vapour lasers. - Advances in unstable resonator technology for pulsed metal vapor lasers. - Beam quality issues for the second harmonic generation of copper vapour radiation. - Spectral control incopper bromide lasers and its application in high speed holography. - 6. Frequency Extension. - Frequency extension of metal vapour lasers. - Transformation of copper and copper bromide laser radiation in non-linear processes. - High power dye laser pumping by copper vapour lasers. - Amplification of the temporally stretched yellow beam of the copper vapour laser. - 7. Applications in Industry. - Precision machining with copper vapour lasers. - Industrial applications of high-power copper vapor lasers. - Exploring high power materials processing applications with copper vapour lasers. - Copper laser machining of ceramics. - Drilling and cutting transparent substrates with copper vapour lasers. - UV micromachining using copper vapour lasers, D. W. Coutts. - Underwater direct metal processing by high-power copper vapour laser. - Applications of CVLs in the electronics industry. - Laser induced chemical etching of silicon with SF6 using a copper bromide vapour laser. - 8. Applications in Medicine. - Treatment of port-wine stains with the 578 nm light from a copper vapour laser and an automated scanning device. - Metal vapour laser systems in biology and medicine. - Copper vapour lasers in oncology. - 9. Applications in Science & Technology. - Applications of copper vapour lasers in spectroscopy. - The use of copper vapor lasers in guide-star applications. - Interaction of CVL radiation with solids: application to mass spectrometry. - Applications of pulsed metal vapour lasers in atmospheric optics. - Optical systems with metal vapour brightness amplifiers. - 10. Collated Characteristics of Some Commercial Pulsed Metal Vapour Lasers. - 11. Contact List of Participants.
