Concentration of CN radicals in carbon monoxide laser plasma

Abstract

The concentration of the CN radicals in the discharge plasma of a CO laser was measured by the line absorption method. The number of the CN molecules was found to lie in the range 1011–2·1012 cm–3 and it depended on the discharge parameters and on the initial composition of the gas mixtures. The addition of small amounts of oxygen reduced strongly the concentration of CN. The presence of CN in a discharge reduced the output power of the laser. However, under certain conditions the influence of CN on the laser action was insignificant.