Characteristics of the emission spectrum of a pulsed high-pressure CO laser

Experimental and theoretical investigations were made of the vibrational-rotational emission spectrum of a pulsed electron-beam-controlled CO laser with a selective resonator operating under free-lasing conditions with the active medium initially at a temperature of 100°K. Measurements were made on the vibrational υ→υ–1 transitions in the range from 8→7 to 15→14, representing lines from P(7) to P(16). In the calculations an allowance was made for the resonant amplification and absorption of the radiation representing respectively the P and R branches of the vibrational-rotational bands of the ¹²C¹⁶O and ¹³C¹⁶O molecules. A good qualitative agreement was observed between the experimental and theoretical data and it was concluded that the proposed calculation method was suitable for predicting the emission spectrum of a high-pressure CO laser throughout its lasing range.