Stability of stimulated emission from a fast-transverse-flow CO2 laser

An investigation was made of the stability of stimulated emission from a fast-flow CO₂ laser in which the active medium traveled at right-angles to the optic axis of the resonator. Amplitude modulation of the output radiation was observed in stable and unstable resonators. This modulation could not be explained by fluctuations of the gain at the entry to the resonator.