Abstract:
The distribution of the saturation values of the gain between the P- and R-branch lines of the 10.4 and 9.4 μm transitions was determined experimentally for a cw gas-discharge CO2 laser of conventional construction. A method was developed for using such a distribution to find the populations of the vibrational levels, the gas T and vibrational T2 and T3 temperatures, and the concentration of CO2 in the operating laser. The method could be used even in the case of a large difference between the temperatures T and T2. A comparison of the results obtained in the presence or absence of lasing made it possible to determine the effectiveness of pumping and relaxation of the active levels.