High-frequency CO2 waveguide with optothermal and optogalvanic stabilization of the radiation frequency and power

Optothermal and optogalvanic stabilization of a CO2 waveguide laser with selective and nonselective resonators and with hf excitation of the active medium was investigated. The optothermal method ensured stability of the average signal frequency amounting to 3×10−10 τ –1/2, whereas the stability achieved by the optogalvanic method was 1.5×10−9 τ –1/2 for averaging times of 0.01 ≤ τ ≤ 10 s. The optogalvanic method ensured that the power of a laser with resonators of different types was stable to within 0.2%.