Energy characteristics of a self-contained cw CO chemical laser

Investigations were made of the energy characteristics of a self-contained supersonic cw CO chemical laser. A calculation method is described, the amplifying properties of the active medium are analyzed, and the spectral characteristics are examined. A comparison is made between the energy characteristics of planar and ring models of a cw CO chemical laser. The results show that the ultimate energy characteristics of this type of laser are fairly good: the specific laser energy (per 1 g of mixture) is ~300 J/g and the chemical efficiency is ≈25%. An allowance for thermal losses in the gas generator reduces these characteristics by a factor of approximately one and half.