Investigation of a tunable CO2 laser excited by a transverse hf discharge

An experimental study was made of a tunable (by a diffraction selector) cw CO₂ laser with a transverse hf excitation of the capacitor type. It was possible to establish discharges homogeneous over the transverse cross section in tubes with diameters up to 20 mm. The gain was determined for some vibrational-rotational transitions in carbon dioxide. An output power of 45 W was obtained and the gain of the active medium was 0.9 m^–1. The advantages of using hf discharges in tunable lasers, compared with dc discharges, were identified.