Short-pulse Injection-locking of a Mercury Chloride Laser

Abstract

We report the injection locking of a mercury chloride discharge laser. This has been achieved using an injection pulse much shorter than the slave pulse duration. Selective enhancement of HgCl laser output at wavelengths to the blue of the usual 558 nm lasing region has been observed. Mercury metastables, produced in the discharge, are found to have an absorption line coincident with an HgCl gain peak at 547 nm, and laser action at this wavelength is inhibited. This absorption has been counteracted by correctly timing the entry of the injected pulse into the slave laser cavity.