Inert gas metallic vapor laser

An inert gas-copper vapor laser is described which consists of a multichamber structure, in which inert gases are heated and mixed with copper powder which is then vaporized, and an inert gas-copper vapor mixture is established in a plenum chamber. The inert gas copper vapor mixture, referred to as the lasant, passes from the plenum chamber through a nozzle into a laser chamber. Positioned in the laser chamber are a pair of spaced apart mirrors and a pair of spaced apart electrodes which together form a cylindrical laser cavity through which the lasant flows. One or both electrodes are comb-shaped. Each comb-shaped electrode consists of a plurality of equal length wires, all of which are connected together at a common terminal. The ends of the wires define tips which are equally spaced apart in a direction parallel to the cavity axis and are equally spaced therefrom. Current discharge due to a current pulse applied to the electrodes takes place at the wires tips. Each electrode is protected by a boron nitride electrode protective member which is slotted so that only the tips of the wires are exposed to the opposite electrode and to the hot plasma flowing between the electrodes through the laser cavity.