Pulse-periodic electron-beam-controlled carbon monoxide laser operating at room temperature

A pulse-periodic electron-beam-controlled CO laser, operating at room temperature, was constructed. The active laser volume was 3.4 litres, the pressure in the CO : N₂ : He = 1 : 6 : 7 laser mixture was varied within the range 0.3–0.6 bar, and the duration of the pump current pulses was 7 μs. The laser cavity was formed by a concave copper mirror (r = 9 m) and a dielectric mirror (on a plane-parallel ZnSe substrate) with a reflection coefficient of 97%. The repetition frequency of the pump and output pulses was varied within the range 1–50 Hz. The maximum output radiation energy delivered by a single pulse, the specific output energy, and the lasing efficiency, were 24.4 J, 18 J litre^-1 bar^-1, and 4.6%, respectively. The average output radiation power was ~1 kW when the repetition frequency of the output pulses was 45 Hz. Ways of improving further the output power of this laser and its possible applications were considered.