FM mode-locked high-pressure CW RF-excited CO/sub 2/ waveguide laser

The authors report the results from a study of a FM mode-locked continuous-wave (CW) RF-excited CO/sub 2/ waveguide laser operated at 0.25-2 atm gas pressures. It is shown that electrooptic FM modulations can be efficiently used to mode lock a CW CO/sub 2/ laser. The combination of a high gas pressure and a high modulation frequency makes it possible to generate pulses which are substantially shorter than those previously reported for CW mode-locked CO/sub 2/ lasers. A theoretical approach is used for simulation of the FM mode-locked laser. The experimental pulses of a few hundred picoseconds FWHM are considerably shorter than previously reported for CW mode-locked CO/sub 2/ lasers. The experimental results are compared with the results of numerical calculations using a frequency domain simulation model.<
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