Ion lasers, which were first used for large-scale commercial applications in the late 1970's, have been improved steadily over the past 10 years. While replacements for these basically inefficient lasers are frequently discussed, these replacements seem always to be just over the horizon. In fact, broad-based commercial applications have been developed on the basis of continuous improvements in reliability and cost reduction. The recent development of dense, vacuum-tight aluminum nitride (AlN) presents the possibility of one more major improvement in this technology. Presently, the plasma- confinement bore is made of beryllium oxide (BeO), which is expensive, poisonous, and suffers from limited availability. AlN, which is being developed as a heatsink material for the electronics industry, is potentially very low cost, non-toxic and is available from a wide range of domestic suppliers. The proposed work will evaluate the suitability of AlN as a laser bore material. Techniques for metalizing and brazing the material must be developed and the material's ability to withstand the heat loads and plasma erosion effects of an air-colled ion laser must be tested.
