Electrical discharge and laser gain characteristics of a coaxial discharge CO/sub 2/ laser stabilized by a transverse rotating magnetic field

The feasibility of creating laser excitation in a diffusion cooled annular coaxial geometry CO/sub 2/ laser by a longitudinal DC electrical discharge stabilized with a rotating transverse magnetic field has been demonstrated. The uniformity of the electrical discharge in the annular cross section could be enhanced considerably with the application of the magnetic field. A peak laser small-signal gain of 0.3 m/sup -1/ was obtained. This scheme could be utilized to construct a compact high-power diffusion cooled CO/sub 2/ laser system.<
>