Abstract

Tubular CO₂ waveguide lasers with electrical rf excitation and diffusion cooling for low-power operation have been well known for several years. But only the introduction of large-area planar discharge structures permitted the development of very compact diffusion-cooled high-power lasers with output power above 1000 W. Recently interest has been concentrated on large-area coaxial lasers, which provide easier manufacturing and an even more compact design than do planar structures.

© 1995 Optical Society of America