From a metal vapor laser projection microscope to a laser monitor (by the 50 year-anniversary of metal vapor lasers)

The paper presents the history of active optical systems development from a laser projection microscope to a laser monitor. The examples of object visualization and diagnostics of high speed processes hidden by the intense background radiation are discussed. These are the processes of laser-surface interaction, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), the corona discharge in the air, the nanoparticle production process using a high-power fiber laser, and etc. The results obtained by different research groups suggest that high-speed metal vapor brightness amplifiers and active optical systems based on them need further research, development and novel applications. © (2015) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only