Time-resolved spatial structure of TEA CO2 laser pulses

The evolution of the intensity profile of TEA CO₂ laser pulses along the pulse length is investigated both analytically and experimentally. A simple scalar model of the pulse amplitude is introduced, which gives the loaded-cavity modes as a linear combination of bidimensional Hermite-Gauss functions. According to this model a number of equations are derived which link the time-varying spatial structure of the pulse to its time-resolved second-order intensity moments, namely, the beam width and the M² parameter.