Realization of a High Energy, High Beam Quality CO2 Laser with a SFUR Cavity

In order to obtain a laser beam with high energy and power and very good spatial characteristics, without damage to the windows of the discharge region, we have adopted a SFUR cavity [I], modified as in [2], but using two Lumonics 602A modules with a total 2 m-long active region. We tested a new method of injection, which has very good insulation carachteristics of the injecting laser. Using the same cavity, but only one module, we have obtained a very clean and sharp pulse temporal profile without a tail, delivering about half energy. Infrared pulsed lasers, such as the one described in this paper, could find useful applications in surface treatment, remote sensing and high power FIR radiation generation.