Performance Characteristics of a CO2 Waveguide Laser,
Abstract
A rugged CW CO2 2-mm-diameter laser tube has been developed and its performance analyzed. It has been found that the small-signal gain was optimum when the CO2 partial pressure in a CO2:Xe:He mixture amounted to about 15 torr with the peak value decreasing with the CO2 proportion. Replacement of part of the CO2 by CO resulted in a significant improvement of the laser efficiency. A power extraction of 0.18 W/cm has been achieved at 110 torr with a CO2:CO:Xe:He mixture of 10:20:4:66 in a 9.5-cm-long discharge. There are indications that a better extraction is possible in longer tubes. Use of a grating as one end mirror was sufficient to control the electric field orientation and led to a greater tuning range by limiting the number of oscillating lines. At the present stage, semi-sealed-off operation is possible with a filling period of about 300 hours. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA077419
Entities
People
- Daniel Vincent
- G. Otis
- P. Lavigne