Continuous-wave CO2–Ar gasdynamic laser emitting at 18.4 μ

A CO₂–Ar mixture was heated with a plasmatron and used as the active medium of a cw thermal gasdynamic laser. The emission wavelength was measured with a scanning infrared monochromator. Continuous emission was observed at the wavelength 18.4 μ, corresponding to the Q branch of the 03¹0–10⁰0 transition of the CO₂ molecule. Experimental estimates indicated that the efficiency and specific output energy of this laser were comparable with the corresponding parameters of the thoroughly investigated CO₂–N₂–He gasdynamic laser emitting at 10.6 μ