Electric-discharge CO2 laser with an active region of 0.28 m3 volume

A three-electrode system for the formation of a self-sustained spatially homogeneous discharge was used in an atmospheric-pressure CO₂ laser with an active volume of 0.28 m³. The area of the discharge aperture was 1400 cm². The energy supplied by a preionization source was 270 J and the energy supplied by a pump source was 40 kJ. The specific output energy of the laser was 30 J/liter.