Pulsed CO2 Laser Pumped by a Longitudinal Discharge in an Alternating Magnetic Field

• Published in: Atmospheric and oceanic optics Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 118 - 122
• Main Authors: Li Hongda, Konovalov, I. N., Panchenko, Yu. N., Puchikin, A. V., Andreev, M. V., Bobrovnikov, S. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.02.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide lasers; Gas discharge tubes; Gas mixtures; Laser pumping; Lasers; Magnetic field; Magnetic fields; Optical Devices; Optical Sources and Receivers for Environmental Studies; Optics; Photonics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; magnetic field; longitudinal discharge; laser; CO; radiation
• ISSN: 1024-8560; 2070-0393
• DOI: 10.1134/S1024856023700136

An original technique is suggested for pumping a pulsed CO 2 laser by a longitudinal discharge in an alternating magnetic field. A small CO 2 laser with active medium ∼200 mm long, pulse energy of ∼30 mJ, and efficiency of 3.4% is designed on the basis of this technique. It is revealed that the main factor which limits the generation energy of small lasers is the development of current instabilities in a longitudinal discharge over a cross section of the discharge tube. It is noted that the growth of the instabilities accelerates as the pressure of a CO 2 : N 2 : H 2 : He gas mixture increases to more than 0.1 atm and the specific pump power becomes higher than 3 MW/cm 3 . The use of an external alternating magnetic field superimposed on a pulsed longitudinal discharge makes it possible to increase the total pressure of the gas mixture in the laser to 0.4 atm when maintaining the combustion of the volume discharge.