CO laser interferometer for REB-plasma experiments

The Michelson carbon oxide laser interferometer for measuring a plasma density in studies on REB-plasma interaction is described. A detail description of the interferometer and CO laser is presented. For a selection of a single wavelength laser operation the CaF2 prism is applied. A Ge:Au photoconductor at 77° K is applied as a detector. The CO laser radiation at λ= 5.34 µm coincides with of the detector maximum sensitivity (of the order of 1000 V/W). This increases the interferometer sensitivity about ten times with respect to the He-Ne laser (λ= 3.39 µm) used as a source of light. The typical interferogram and time evolution of a plasma density obtained at GOL-M device are presented.