Radiation losses in a cw chemical CO laser with a CS2 – air mixture

An investigation of the dependence of the output radiation power of a cw chemical CO laser on the pressure in the active medium (8–12 kPa) was used to estimate the coefficient representing the internal radiation losses. This was done for configurations differing in respect of the mirror losses. For a medium formed by the products of combustion of carbon disulfide, this loss coefficient was 0.04 ± 0.01 m^-1. Cold combustion products were characterised by much lower absorptivity than hot products.