Concentration of CN radicals in carbon monoxide laser plasma

The concentration of the CN radicals in the discharge plasma of a CO laser was measured by the line absorption method. The number of the CN molecules was found to lie in the range 10¹¹–2·10¹² cm^–3 and it depended on the discharge parameters and on the initial composition of the gas mixtures. The addition of small amounts of oxygen reduced strongly the concentration of CN. The presence of CN in a discharge reduced the output power of the laser. However, under certain conditions the influence of CN on the laser action was insignificant.