GAIN AND EMISSION SPECTRUM OF A PULSED ELECTRON-BEAM-CONTROLLED N2O LASER
An experimental and theoretical investigation was made of the small-signal gain in a pulsed electron-beam-controlled N2O laser. The gain was found to exceed ~ 1 m−1. A comparison of the experimental and calculated gain values was used as the basis for estimating the pumping efficiency of N2O molecules in an electron-beam-controlled discharge and the relaxation constant of the upper active level. The lasing frequency of the N2O laser was tunable in spectral ranges corresponding to vibrational–rotational transitions from R (46) to R (2) and from P (2) to P (46). The laser output energy, at its maximum in the distribution over the rotational numbers, was ~ 8 J (~ 16 J liter−1 amagat−1).