What are the salient points of the argon ion laser?
Argon ion lasers require high current density discharge for the generation of ionized argon as the laser medium. In this case, the energy levels responsible for laser action belong to singly ionized argon gas, the lower level being the ground state of argon ion. Since the upper energy level is about 20 ev above the ionized ground state, considerable amount of energy has to be supplied to raise the neutral argon atom to this level. Though there are a number of output wavelengths, most important are at 488 and 514nm.
