Effect of nitric oxide on gain and output power of a non-self-sustained electric discharge pumped oxygen-iodine laser

This letter discusses the effect of nitric oxide on gain and output power of a pulser-sustainer discharge excited oxygen iodine laser. Adding small amounts of NO to the laser mixture (a few hundreds of ppm) considerably increases gain and output power due to (i) O atom titration and resultant slower I* atom quenching and (ii) improved stability of the dc sustainer discharge, which allows stable operation at significantly higher discharge powers. Gain on the 1315nm iodine atom transition and laser power in the M=3 transverse laser cavity are 0.049%∕cm and 1.24W, at a flow temperature of T=100K.