Emission spectrum of a pulsed electron-beam-controlled CO laser with an intracavity water cell

A detailed experimental investigation was made for the first time of the time-resolved spectral and energy characteristics of a pulsed electron-beam-controlled CO laser, as a function of the water vapor content in an intracavity cell. It was found that using such a cell made it possible to considerably increase the number of rotational lines in the emission spectrum and thereby to extend the tuning range of the emission frequency of a pulsed electron-beam-controlled CO laser. The introduction of water vapor into the resonator made it possible to match the emission spectrum of such a laser to the atmospheric transparency windows in the range 5–5.5 μ. The possibility was investigated of utilizing a column of atmospheric air as a selective absorption cell.