Influence of injection of external radiation on the operation of a TEA laser with an unstable resonator

An experimental study was made of the changes in the profile of pulses emitted by a CO₂ laser as a result of injection of 10.6μ radiation into the exit aperture of a telescopic resonator. There was a range of the external radiation powers in which a change in the profile of the emitted pulses occurred without an increase in the divergence. The sensitivity of the laser to external radiation was a factor of 10⁴ higher than in the traditional methods for control by injection of external radiation.