Investigation of an electric-discharge N2O laser

A description is given of the construction of a continuously pumped electric-discharge laser using a N₂O–He–N₂ mixture. The optimal ratio of the components in the mixture was 1:4:2 for a constant flow velocity of 4 m/sec; this corresponded to an output power of 0.5 W. We studied the influence of xenon on the operation of this laser. A diffraction grating was used as a selective element to achieve stimulated emission of several rotational lines of the P and R branches of the 00⁰1–10⁰0 transition of the N₂O molecule in the wavelength range 10.4–11.0 μ.