High-pressure plasma-cathode CO2 laser with continuous frequency tunability

A compact high-pressure (8-atm) electric-discharge CO₂ laser with a plasma cathode and a working mixture of the composition CO₂:N₂=1:1 was constructed. Continuous tuning of the emission frequency was achieved in the ranges 938–951, 970–980, 1041–1054, and 1073–1083 cm^–1 when the peak power was in excess of 1 MW. The efficiency reached 5% for a nondispersive resonator and the peak power was in excess of 10 MW. The duration of the radiation pulses was 50 nsec.