Quasi-cw industrial CO2 laser

A quasi-cw fast-flow electric-discharge CO₂ laser is described. It emits radiation pulses of power up to 5 kW and duration exceeding 2 msec, with a continuously tunable repetition frequency of up to 500 Hz. The ultimate discharge characteristics and the power in a laser emission pulse are close to those for the cw pumping regime. Oscillograms of the output pulses are given. The considerable duration of the leading edge of the pulses (~ 1 msec) imposes a limit on the attainable repetition frequency. It is suggested that the marked delay of the leading edge of the emission pulses relative to the pump pulses is associated with the time dependence of the amplifying characteristics of the active medium along the flow direction and with the low specific input energies.