Development of Low-Power CO$_{2}$ Laser for CTIX Beat-Wave Experiment

To enhance the flexibility of the two high-power Lumonics CO$_{2}$ TEA lasers to be used on our beat-wave current drive experiment, we are in the process of restoring two low-power CO$_{2}$ lasers previously used as drivers for FIR experiments. [1] The expected laser characteristics from previous operation are 10W steady-state and up to 5kW pulsed at 200nsec with Q switching. The frequencies of the high-power lasers are critical for the beat-wave current drive experiment. At low power, the operating wavelength may be accurately tuned using a rotatable diffraction grating. Upon completion of the restoration, the CO$_{2}$ lasers will initially be used for gain testing of the Lumonics pulsed lasers. Later, the low-power lasers will be used for mode locking operation of the Lumonics lasers. The low-power CO$_{2}$ lasers have many other applications; for instance, they can also be used for scattering diagnostics. The results of steady-state operation and gain testing of the high-power CO$_{2}$ laser will be presented. \\[4pt] [1] M. M. T. Loy and P. A. Roland, Rev. Sci. Instrum., Vol. 48 \#6 May 1977