An original technique for pumping a pulsed CO2 laser with a longitudinal discharge in an alternating magnetic field is proposed and implemented. Based on this technique proposed technique, a small CO2 laser with an active medium length of ~ 200 mm, a pulse energy of ~ 30 mJ, and an efficiency of 3.4% is designed. It is revealed that the main factor which limits the generation energy of small lasers is the development of current instabilities in a longitudinal discharge across a cross section of the discharge tube. It is noted that the growth of instabilities accelerates with increasing pressure of a CO2 : N2 : H2 : He gas mixture to more than 0.1 atm and the specific pump power to more than 3 MW/cm3. The use of an external alternating magnetic field superimposed on a pulsed longitudinal discharge makes it possible to increase the total pressure of the gas mixture in the laser to 0.4 atm while maintaining the combustion of the volume discharge.
CO2 laser, longitudinal discharge, magnetic field, radiation
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