Carbon dioxide laser media consisting of combustion products of fuels low in nitrogen

An experimental investigation was made of the dependence of the optical gain K₀ on the pressure and temperature in the prenozzle zone in a CO₂ gasdynamic laser utilizing combustion products of model fuels with low nitrogen content: the atomic fraction of N was ξ_N = 0.4. The experiments were carried out in the following gas pressure and temperature ranges in the prenozzle chamber: p = 4–25 atm, T = 1300–2300 °K. When this pressure and temperature were reduced there was a significant reduction in the range of conditions under which lasing was possible in media with ξ_N = 0.4. Mixtures of combustion products with relatively high values of K₀ were formed as a result of burning of fuels characterized by an oxidizer excess coefficient differing from unity.