Rotational coupling and laser dynamics in TE CO2 lasers Journal Articles uri icon

  •  
  • Overview
  •  
  • Research
  •  
  • Identity
  •  
  • Additional Document Info
  •  
  • View All
  •  

abstract

  • A model of the gain−switched TE CO2 laser is presented which explicitly includes rotational relaxation within the sublevels of the 10.4−μ laser band. Careful comparison with experiment is made employing a Q−switched cavity, and it is shown that rotational coupling dominates the laser dynamics at pressures below 150 Torr. Calculations demonstrate that the effect of rotational coupling is very significant even at atmospheric pressure, and its inclusion in the laser dynamical equations accounts for most of the difficulties obtained with previous models.

publication date

  • April 1, 1975