Pulsed CO laser based on the first vibrational overtone

A description is given of the apparatus and calculation method used in experimental and theoretical determination of the characteristics of an electron-beam-controlled CO laser operating exclusively on the basis of the transitions corresponding to the first vibrational overtone. The results of the experimental and theoretical studies are analysed and compared. The adopted model gives results in good agreement with the experimental data for CO — N₂ mixtures. A study is reported of the influence of the optical cavity selectivity on the lasing characteristics. Calculations demonstrate that a change from a narrow-band cavity used in our experiments to a broad-band nonselective cavity should improve the energy characteristics of the laser by about an order of magnitude.