Parameters of a four-frequency carbon dioxide laser with a transverse discharge

An investigation was made of the conditions for tuning of the CO₂ laser radiation at the wavelengths of 9.3, 9.6, 10.2, and 10.6 μ corresponding to the P and R vibrational transitions between the 00⁰1–10⁰0 and 00⁰1–02⁰0 levels. The tuning was performed by a prism placed inside the laser resonator. The emission spectrum of the laser was expanded toward shorter wavelengths by the generation of second harmonics in tellurium crystals. The wavelengths of these harmonics were 4.65, 4.8, 5.1, and 5.3 μ. The conversion and efficiency was 0.2% for unfocused beams in crystals without antireflection coatings.