Experimental Study of an Efficient, High Power and Tunable Continuous-Wave CO<sub>2</sub> Laser

The tunable CO<sub>2</sub> laser is a common pump source for optically pumped terahertz lasers. In this paper, based on a sealed-off CO<sub>2</sub> laser tube and a grating-tuned cavity, we reported an efficient, high-power, low-cost, simple structure and tunable continuous-w...

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Main Authors: Lijie Geng, Shuaifei Song, Kun Yang, Pengji Yan, Zhenxiang Fu, Yanchen Qu, Ruiliang Zhang, Zhifeng Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Photonics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/3/188
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author Lijie Geng
Shuaifei Song
Kun Yang
Pengji Yan
Zhenxiang Fu
Yanchen Qu
Ruiliang Zhang
Zhifeng Zhang
author_facet Lijie Geng
Shuaifei Song
Kun Yang
Pengji Yan
Zhenxiang Fu
Yanchen Qu
Ruiliang Zhang
Zhifeng Zhang
author_sort Lijie Geng
collection DOAJ
description The tunable CO<sub>2</sub> laser is a common pump source for optically pumped terahertz lasers. In this paper, based on a sealed-off CO<sub>2</sub> laser tube and a grating-tuned cavity, we reported an efficient, high-power, low-cost, simple structure and tunable continuous-wave CO<sub>2</sub> laser. A sealed-off CO<sub>2</sub> laser tube was designed and customized, and its plasma discharge characteristics were experimentally analyzed. The influence of output coupler transmittance and discharge current on the laser’s tunability and output power was systematically studied using grating tuning. A total of 78 spectral lines were achieved within the wavelength range of 9.17–10.86 μm. The maximum output power of 55.5 W was recorded on the 10P20 line when the output coupler transmittance was approximately 22%. The laser exhibited a beam spot radius of about 3.8 mm and a beam quality factor (M<sup>2</sup>) of 1.74.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2304-6732
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Photonics
spelling doaj-art-b37af8bfa0bf4a8984d63ac4eb2a9c962025-08-20T03:43:14ZengMDPI AGPhotonics2304-67322025-02-0112318810.3390/photonics12030188Experimental Study of an Efficient, High Power and Tunable Continuous-Wave CO<sub>2</sub> LaserLijie Geng0Shuaifei Song1Kun Yang2Pengji Yan3Zhenxiang Fu4Yanchen Qu5Ruiliang Zhang6Zhifeng Zhang7School of Electronic and Information, Henan Province Optoelectronic Sensing and Information Processing Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450000, ChinaSchool of Electronic and Information, Henan Province Optoelectronic Sensing and Information Processing Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450000, ChinaSchool of Electronic and Information, Henan Province Optoelectronic Sensing and Information Processing Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450000, ChinaSchool of Electronic and Information, Henan Province Optoelectronic Sensing and Information Processing Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450000, ChinaSchool of Electronic and Information, Henan Province Optoelectronic Sensing and Information Processing Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450000, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Tunable Laser, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaSchool of Electronic and Information, Henan Province Optoelectronic Sensing and Information Processing Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450000, ChinaSchool of Electronic and Information, Henan Province Optoelectronic Sensing and Information Processing Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450000, ChinaThe tunable CO<sub>2</sub> laser is a common pump source for optically pumped terahertz lasers. In this paper, based on a sealed-off CO<sub>2</sub> laser tube and a grating-tuned cavity, we reported an efficient, high-power, low-cost, simple structure and tunable continuous-wave CO<sub>2</sub> laser. A sealed-off CO<sub>2</sub> laser tube was designed and customized, and its plasma discharge characteristics were experimentally analyzed. The influence of output coupler transmittance and discharge current on the laser’s tunability and output power was systematically studied using grating tuning. A total of 78 spectral lines were achieved within the wavelength range of 9.17–10.86 μm. The maximum output power of 55.5 W was recorded on the 10P20 line when the output coupler transmittance was approximately 22%. The laser exhibited a beam spot radius of about 3.8 mm and a beam quality factor (M<sup>2</sup>) of 1.74.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/3/188CO<sub>2</sub> lasersealed-off laserwavelength tuningcontinuous-wavegrating
spellingShingle Lijie Geng
Shuaifei Song
Kun Yang
Pengji Yan
Zhenxiang Fu
Yanchen Qu
Ruiliang Zhang
Zhifeng Zhang
Experimental Study of an Efficient, High Power and Tunable Continuous-Wave CO<sub>2</sub> Laser
Photonics
CO<sub>2</sub> laser
sealed-off laser
wavelength tuning
continuous-wave
grating
title Experimental Study of an Efficient, High Power and Tunable Continuous-Wave CO<sub>2</sub> Laser
title_full Experimental Study of an Efficient, High Power and Tunable Continuous-Wave CO<sub>2</sub> Laser
title_fullStr Experimental Study of an Efficient, High Power and Tunable Continuous-Wave CO<sub>2</sub> Laser
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Study of an Efficient, High Power and Tunable Continuous-Wave CO<sub>2</sub> Laser
title_short Experimental Study of an Efficient, High Power and Tunable Continuous-Wave CO<sub>2</sub> Laser
title_sort experimental study of an efficient high power and tunable continuous wave co sub 2 sub laser
topic CO<sub>2</sub> laser
sealed-off laser
wavelength tuning
continuous-wave
grating
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/3/188
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