Frequency chirp in a 10 ATM RF-excited CO2 waveguide laser

Various mechanisms causing frequency chirping in multiatmospheric-pressure CO₂ lasers are discussed. The frequency chirp has been measured in a pulsed 10 atm CO₂ waveguide laser. It has been found that the dominating cause of the frequency chirp in this laser is heating of the gas by the RF discharge. The chirp increases with increasing RF input power. The chirp levels off at about 100-150 MHz/μs for 25 kW of input power. This leveling off the chirp is believed to be due to the negative lensing effect of the gas density perturbation. The effect of the anomalous dispersion on the chirp is observed when the laser is operated at the flanks of the CO₂ gain branches