Abstract

Copper vapor lasers have been under development at LLNL since the mid-1970s for use in atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS), with the goal of demonstrating an industrially qualified laser system. During that time output power and reliability have been scaled by several orders of magnitude. Here we review the design of our continuously operating copper laser system and highlight the performance and reliability of that system and several of its key components. We also report the performance of our new generation of copper laser amplifiers.

© 1991 Optical Society of America