Frequency and amplitude characteristics of a high repetition rate hybrid TEA-CO 2 laser

The envelope and frequency characteristics of the output pulse of a high repetition rate hybrid TEA-CO 2 laser are presented. Both the intrapulse and interpulse laser frequency stabilities are experimentally determined at repetition rates up to 300 Hz. The recovery of the CW laser signal following the generation of the TEA laser pulse is analyzed theoretically and experimentally. Short term reproducibilities of ±2 MHz are observed at a pulse repetition rate of 300 Hz with initial chirp rates of about 1.5 MHz/μs. Improvements and limits on power and repetition rate are discussed.