Continuous wave 200kW supersonic CO laser

The paper is dedicated to a supersonic e-beam sustained cw CO laser. An analytical model of such a laser is presented. A comparison of the model with results of experimental testing of a full-scale mock-up of the laser is given. In experiments radiation power of 140 - 200 kW with an electro-optical efficiency of 44 - 49% have been obtained with duration of cw operation up to 1 sec.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.