| Abstract: | The principles of the physical processes in a high-power gasdynamic cw CO= laser are considered. An equation is derived for the output power, with account taken of the vibrational-nonequilibrium flow of the mixture through the nozzle and of the action of the optical resonator. A theory of the energy of the optical resonator used in the GDL is constructed. The corresponding models of the working medium in the section in which the gas flows through a supersonic nozzle and the optical resonator are presented. The efficiency of a resonator with a uniform field is calculated. The first experiments that have led to realization of the idea of the GDL are described. Experiments that have established for the first time that inactive absorption takes place in the amplifying medium of GDL based on combustion products are also described.Translated from Trudy Ordena Lenina Fizicheskogo Instituta im. P. N. Lebedeva, Vol. 3, pp. 50–114, 1979. |
