Efficient, high rep rate, large-bore kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser with low (<1 kW/l) specific input power...

Large-bore kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser (CVL) based on new thermal assembly consisting of different density zones of insulation material (alumina fiber) around the discharge tube is demonstrated for the first time with efficiency eta > or = 1% at extremely low specific input power (SIP) of < or = 1 kW/l. As a result of this longitudinal profiling of the insulation material, efficiency of approximately 1.2% was achieved at lowest SIP of approximately 0.75 kW/l. Net reduction in the input power of approximately 1 kW was observed on using this thermal assembly as compared to nonprofiled thermal assembly. These results show significant improvement (25%-30%) at low input requirements of the laser on using new thermal assembly around the discharge tube with overall electro-optical efficiency eta > or = 1%. Maximum laser power achieved from the laser was approximately 78 W at approximately 9.8 kHz rep rate with efficiency of approximately 1.4%. This large-bore CVL is also capable of operating efficiently (eta approximately 1%) at high rep rate of -17 kHz with maximum laser power of approximately 50 W. Performance of the laser under various operating conditions is also presented in this short paper.