Abstract

The gain of the laser medium in a discharge-pumped CO₂ laser is directly related to its discharge. Any non-uniformity in the discharge can adversely affect overall laser efficiency and can lead to non-uniformities in the intensity of the output laser beam. It is therefore important to characterize the gain region resulting from the discharge in order to accurately predict the performance of the laser. Such accuracy is especially important for designing light-weight lasers for airborne or space based applications. In this paper, we describe techniques to spatially and temporally characterize the gain region of a pre-ionized self-sustained discharge pumped CO₂ laser.

© 1991 Optical Society of America