Performance parameters of an electric discharge excited, supersonic flow CO laser operated
with significant amounts of air species in the laser mixture is studied experimentally and by
kinetic modeling. The results demonstrate that adding nitrogen to the CO–He mixture
increases the laser power significantly, by up to a factor of 3. Adding oxygen reduces CO
vibrational excitation and results in a steep laser power reduction. Adding air to the laser
mixture also produces higher output power, such that the positive effect of nitrogen …

THE direct-discharge-excited carbon monoxide laser has demonstrated the remarkable
efficiency of a glow discharge for exciting the vibrational quantum states of CO. 1" 3
Continuous wave operation of carbon monoxide lasers has been achieved in which nearly
50% of the input electrical power is converted into laser output on the fundamental
vibrationrotation bands. 4 This efficiency is the highest reported for any cw laser, and makes
the CO laser an attractive candidate for many IR applications. There are, however, some …