An investigation into the origin of frequency sweeping in a hybrid TEA CO₂ laser

Abstract

An analysis of the sources of the intrapulse frequency modulation in the hybrid TEA CO 2 laser is presented. Two principal effects predominate: the falling frequency at the start of the pulse is shown to be due to plasma effects, while the increasing frequency during the remainder of the pulse arises from a laser induced refractive index perturbation. The significance of these results to the design of high stability pulsed lasers is discussed.