Investigation of the dynamics of the angular divergence of a radiation beam from a pulsed electron-beam-controlled CO laser

A high-speed photographic method was developed for measuring the spatial and temporal characteristics of pulsed laser radiation in the middle infrared range. An investigation was made of the dynamics of the angular divergence of a beam from a cryogenically cooled electron-beam-controlled CO laser with different types of resonator. The main factors limiting the angular divergence of the radiation from such lasers were found to be inhomogeneity of the cooling of the active medium and gasdynamic perturbations arising from a nonuniform distribution of the pump energy.