An analysis is made of the published data on the discharge and lasing
characteristics, and on the level population kinetics of pulsed lasers
based on vapours of metals and their halides mixed with hydrogen and
HBr additives. The influence of dissociative attachment, particularly
to the HBr molecule, on the population inversion kinetics of these las
ers is considered. Such attachment makes it possible to explain all th
e observed features of the investigated lasers, including an increase
in the efficiency and power of a CuBr laser with added hydrogen and of
a 'HyBrID' laser. The addition of molecules with a large dissociative
-attachment cross section and with a suitable position of the maximum
of this cross section provides new opportunities for improving the cha
racteristics of pulsed lasers based on r-m transitions between resonan
ce (r) and metastable (m) levels.