CO_2 Laser with Simultaneous Active and Passive Q-Switching

Abstract

Experiments were performed on a CO(2) laser using both saturable absorbing gas and slowly rotating mirror Q-switches. It was found that the saturating absorber essentially controls the pulse width and structure over a wide range of mirror rotation rates. A theoretical calculation is also reported. The CO(2) laser and the absorber were both assumed to be two-level systems.