Initiation of a self-sustained volume discharge in CO
2-containing gaseous mixtures kept under a pressure of up to 10 atm with the aim of amplifying picosecond IR pulses is considered.
Experimental electricdischarge and optical characteristics of a wide-aperture high-pressure CO
2 amplifier are presented. The feasibility of designing terawatt laser equipment with a master oscillator and preamplifier
is discussed.
PACS numbers 42.55.Lt - 52.80.Hc
Original Russian Text © G.A. Baranov, A.A. Kuchinsky, P.V. Tomashevich, 2008, published in Zhurnal Tekhnicheskoĭ Fiziki, 2008,
Vol. 78, No. 10, pp. 53–58.