Influence of the combustion of carbon on the excitation of vibrational levels in the discharge plasma of a CO laser

An estimate was obtained of the contribution of the fast exothermal reaction C+O₂→CO+O+ΔE to the excitation of the vibrations of the CO molecules in a gas discharge used in a CO laser. The rate of excitation of the vibrations by this reaction was found to be comparable with the rate of excitation by direct electron impact, which explained qualitatively an increase in the stimulated output power when small amounts of oxygen were added. The addition of large amounts of O₂ resulted in quenching of the CO vibrations as a result of collisions with the CO₂ molecules formed in plasmochemical reactions.