Generation of radiation with a radiant intensity of several terawatts per steradian in a pulse-periodic electron-beam-controlled CO2 master oscillator-amplifier system

A pulse-periodic electron-beam-controlled CO₂ laser emitting pulses of 30-μs duration at a repetition frequency up to 100 Hz was based on a master oscillator with a self-filtering unstable resonator and a four-pass off-axis telescopic amplifier. A radiant intensity I_e = 1.4 TW/sr was achieved. Experiments indicated a maximum in the dependence of I_e on the pump power delivered to an amplifier.