TEA-laser emission on the sequence bands of CO2

Laser emission on the sequence bands of CO2 has been achieved in a TEA amplifier using either a hot-CO 2 cell or a Michelson interferometer to prevent oscillation of the regular bands. It has been found that the insertion losses of the hot-CO2 filter severely limit the energy extraction efficiency on the sequence bands. With the Michelson arrangement, output energies of 140 mJ on the sequence P(17) have been produced in a 33-cm-long TEA amplifier. The relatively low efficiencies obtained suggest that generation of high-intensity laser beams at the sequence band frequencies would require the use of oscillator-amplifier combinations.