The excitation of TEA-CO2 lasers with self-sustained discharges

The excitation efficiency, transverse gain profile, and dissociation rates of a compact and reliable TEA-CO2 laser with self-sustained discharge have been investigated. It was shown that the average electron energies and therefore the electron impact rate constants in self-sustained volume-controlled discharges were independent of the parameters of the gas mixture, with electron energies depending only on the presence of N2. The vibration-excitation efficiency was found to be independent of the gas pressure and of the He fraction of the mixture. The energy transfer rate from the pump capacitor to the discharge depended on the quasi-stable discharge voltage.