Investigation of the amplifying properties of a CO2–N2–He medium with different microwave preionization systems

A study was made of the amplifying properties of a CO₂ laser system with microwave preionization. The distribution of the gain in the discharge zone was determined for various types of excitation of an auxiliary microwave discharge. The use of different microwave preionization systems made it possible to alter the gain profile. The maximum value of the gain, 2.5%/cm, was obtained in the range of pressures 50–100 Torr.