Regenerative CO2 amplifier with controlled pulse duration

A report is given of the construction of a regenerative TEA CO₂ amplifier emitting a pulse train with the duration of individual pulses controlled in the range 10–40 ns, the time interval between them ~ 110 ns, and their total energy ~ 4 J. An injected pulse was formed by screening laser radiation by an optical breakdown plasma in air at the focus of a lens telescope. Good reproducibility of the temporal parameters of the injected pulse was ensured by injecting radiation from a cw frequency-stabilized CO₂ laser into a master oscillator.