Heated-cathode pulse CO2 laser pumped by a gas discharge at atmospheric pressure

An investigation was made of the distribution of the gas density in a discharge gap of a continuous-flow CO₂ laser with a heated cathode. The influence of the cathode heating on the laser threshold was determined. It was established that the use of a heated cathode made it possible to increase the molecular gas content in the working mixture by improving the homogeneity of the discharge.