Spectral and energy characteristics of a sealed carbon monoxide laser

A CO laser, capable of operating for a long time without a change of the active gas, was constructed. The maximum output power of the laser was 17 W and the efficiency was 12%; these values were considerably better than those given in the published literature. An investigation was made of the emission spectrum and of the dependence of the output power on the transmission coefficient of the exit mirror under cw and Q-switched conditions.