Abstract: A miniature solid state laser is optically pumped by ultraviolet radiation produced by a surface or corona discharge. The device is monolithic in that both the optical pump and the active medium are contiguous to a base material which is optically transparent in the ultraviolet range. The disclosed device consists of a substrate, a thin metal halide or crystalline or amorphous film deposited on the bottom of the substrate and a pair of spaced electrodes on the top of the substrate. When a high voltage pulse is applied across the spaced electrodes, discharge occurs between the electrodes and produces strong ultraviolet emissions which propagate through the substrate and dissociates the metal halide molecules in the film. This causes laser emission to occur on an atomic transition of the metal atom. The active laser medium may also be a crystalline platelet or amorphous thin film containing an impurity atom or molecule (an example would be YAG doped with Nd or LiYF.sub.4 (YLF) doped with cerium).

Abstract: A novel method and system for depositing films of selected metallic or semiconductor materials, and particularly of the group III, IV, and V elements, is described which comprises heating a halide compound of the material to produce vapor within a substantially closed chamber, irradiating the vapor with light of preselected wavelength to dissociatively photoionize the vapor into the constituent positive ions of the material and negative halogen ions, and subjecting the photoionized vapor to an electric field to selectively remove the positive ions of the material for plating as a film.

Abstract: Unusual power enhancement and a plurality of output wavelengths in the visible or near-infrared regions are obtained simultaneously from a laser in which the vapors of two or more Group II-B metal halides are dissociatively excited either in an electrical discharge or by photodissociation by an external laser. By using halides involving only one metal and/or halogen isotope, the power output is greater than that obtainable with natural abundance salts. The laser output is also more confined spectrally. Over 50% of the power is contained in one or two spectrally narrow lines that are associated with a particular metal halide molecule.

Abstract: The efficiency of pulsed laser systems is enhanced substantially by injecting a minor amount of radiation energy into the system .DELTA.t seconds prior to the emergence of the laser pulse. The degree of power enhancement is a function of both radiation wavelength and time delay.

Abstract: Visible and ultraviolet lasers is based on excimer transitions in the diatomic homonuclear halogen molecules. Electron beam pumping of argon and hydrogen iodide gas mixtures produces a strong green emission in I.sub.2 centered at 505 nm and a full width of half maximum (FWHM) of the gain spectrum of approximately 15 nm. The transition for the green I.sub.2 band is bound-to-free, so a laser on this transition is continuously tunable. The result is a room temperature excimer laser that is potentially tunable over a region of 150 .ANG. in the blue-green.