title: Efficient potassium diode pumped alkali laser operating in pulsed mode.
abstract: This paper presents the results of our experiments on the development of an efficient hydrocarbon free diode pumped alkali laser based on potassium vapor buffered by He gas at 600 Torr. A slope efficiency of more than 50% was demonstrated with a total optical conversion efficiency of 30%. This result was achieved by using a narrowband diode laser stack as the pump source. The stack was operated in pulsed mode to avoid limiting thermal effects and ionization.
authors.forename: Boris V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Zhdanov
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Rotondaro
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Shaffer
authors.forename: Randall J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Knize