Parametric studies on generation of short CO2 laser pulses for IR-laser chemistry

Results of parametric studies on short CO₂ laser pulse generation by laser induced dielectric breakdown in a plasma shutter cell are described. From the rise time of such short pulses obtained, threshold breakdown intensity (I_th) has been estimated for different gases. The technique is further extended to obtain 40 ns pulses on two-frequency emission from a single TEA CO₂ laser. Pressure dependent studies of I_th are utilised to model the process of such laser induced plasma.