Experimental investigation of CO2 laser sources for lidar applications

The parameters of unstable resonators for a CO₂ laser Doppler lidar source were investigated. Injection of external cw radiation was used to select the longitudinal modes. Measurements were made of the width of the single-mode lasing region, the radiation divergence, and the frequency chirp during a pulse. The output characteristics of a Doppler CO₂ lidar, developed for measuring the atmospheric wind velocity, are presented.