Saturation in waveguide CO2 lasers

The dependence of the active-medium gain in a waveguide CO₂ laser on the local radiation density in the active volume is investigated theoretically and an examination is made of the dependence of the saturation parameter on the pressure, pump-current density, and internal diameter of the laser tube. A report is given of an experimental study of the pressure dependence of the saturation parameter for two compositions of a CO₂–N₂–He gas mixture. The theoretical and experimental results are compared.