Calculation of the electron energy in the discharge plasma of a pulsed electron-beam-controlled CO laser on the basis of an analysis of the temporal characteristics of its radiation

The temporal characteristics of the radiation emitted under conditions typical of the operation of an electron-beam-controlled (EBC) CO laser were analysed to determine the average energy of electrons in the discharge when collisions of the second kind (superelastic collisions) occurred in the active medium. The excess of this energy above the value governed solely by the electric field amounted to ~0.04 eV under these experimental conditions. The proposed signal processing method is justified thermodynamically. Discharge of an LC transmission line across a matched load is suggested as a method of efficient pumping of EBC CO lasers.