High-power pulsed CO2 laser continuously tunable over a wide frequency range

An experimental and theoretical study was made of the operating features of a high-pressure tunable CO₂ laser. Excitation of a CO₂:N₂=1:1 gas mixture at 4 atm pressure by an externally maintained discharge, initiated by an electron beam, provided continuous tuning of the emission frequency in the P and R branches of the 00⁰1–10⁰0 and 00⁰1–02⁰0 bands of the CO₂ molecule. An overall tuning range of 102 cm^–1 was achieved with output energies up to 5.8 J and an efficiency of 2.2%.