Sealed CO2 laser emitting in the 4.3 μ range

A simple CO₂ laser with combined electrical and optical excitation was constructed. It emitted in the region of 4.3μ (10⁰1–10⁰0 band). Suppression of lasing in the usual 10–μ band was the result of selection of the composition of the gas mixture and not due to the use of an intracavity cell containing heated CO₂. Tuning of the radiation between the lines of the P and R branches with values of J from 8 to 40 was performed by a diffraction grating. A peak output power of 60 W was achieved for the P(26) line when the pulse duration was 300 nsec.