Pulse shaping by the separate excitation of different parts of an active medium in a laser resonator

A new excitation method is proposed for shaping and lengthening the output pulse of TEA CO₂ lasers, based on the independent excitation of two or more coaxial discharge systems contained in the same resonator. The shape of the TEA CO₂ laser pulse is derived, from the rate equations, as a function of the delay time between the two discharge-current pulses. The first experimental results for a laser of this type are presented.