High-quality beam generation in a 8-kW cw CO₂laser

Abstract

The use of a self-filtering cavity in a laser makes it possible to obtain a high-quality high-power output beams. A maximum output power of 8.3 kW with an electrooptical efficiency of 11.3% is obtained. Estimates show that a high-quality beam with power up to 20 kW can be generated in electric-discharge CO2 lasers with a self-filtering cavity.