Construction of a transversely excited slow axial flow radio-frequency CO2 laser at 13.56 MHz

• A radio frequency (RF) excited CO2 laser was built and characterized.
• Operational characteristics of this laser were described along with the experimental.
• Three sets of resonators with different reflectivities of mirrors were used.
• An explanation of our particular results and comparison with other works were given.
• Calculations of output power were done, and compared with the measurements.

We have built a radio frequency (RF) excited CO2 laser and characterized it. The output power versus the gas mixture pressure and the RF input power are studied experimentally at different ratios of gas mixture CO2:N2:He. The discharge cavity is constructed by four copper electrodes in two coaxially ceramic tubes. Operational characteristics of this laser are described along with the experimental findings. Three sets of resonators with different reflectivities of mirrors were used, and a maximum laser output power of 30 W was obtained at 72 mbar pressure of gas mixture with the ratio of CO2:N2:He=1:3:5, and 500 W as an input power. An explanation of our particular results and supporting experimental evidence are given.The measured and calculated laser output powers versus the input RF power at 84 mbar pressure of gas mixture with ratio of CO2:N2:He=1:8:5 were compared and a good agreement was observed.Also, the measured output power versus rms RF current at these conditions was compared with the results of RF CO2 laser of other works; the general behavior was almost similar.