Electrical Pumping
Electric glow discharge is common in gas lasers. For example, in the helium-neon laser the electrons from the discharge collide with the helium atoms, exciting them. The excited helium atoms then collide with neon atoms, transferring energy. This allows an inverse population of neon atoms to build up.
Electric current is typically used to pump laser diodes and semiconductor crystal lasers (for example germanium)
Electron beams pump free electron lasers and some excimer lasers.
Read more about this topic: Laser Pumping
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