Compact pulse-periodic CO2 laser

A description is given of a laboratory CO₂ laser with a pulse repetition frequency of f ≈ 350 Hz and an average output power P up to 80 W in pulses of ~3μsec duration at half-amplitude. A study was made of the dependence of the average radiation power on f and of the time stability of P. Continuous operation at 100 Hz without replacement of the gas mixture for 30 min reduced the average output power by not more than 15%. Contraction of a discharge was found to occur because of chemical decomposition and not because of overheating of the mixture.