Electron-beam-controlled CO laser emitting submicrosecond pulses

Output radiation pulses of $\lesssim1$ $\mu$sec duration (at half-height) and with a peak power up to 5 MW were generated by switching the $Q$ factor of the resonator of a cooled electron-beam-controlled CO laser. The dependences of the lasing characteristics on the composition of the gas mixture, excitation energy density, rate of $Q$ switching, and $Q$ switching delay were determined. The time needed for the formation of a plateau of the distribution function of the populations of the vibrational levels of the CO molecule in the course of vibrational–vibrational ($VV$) relaxation found experimentally was considerably greater than the time predicted theoretically.