Role of triethylamine in a high-energy wavelength-selective transversely excited atmospheric CO2 laser

Triethylamine (C6H15N) is widely used to stabilize the discharges of wavelength-nonselective transversely excited atmospheric (TEA) CO2 lasers. In this paper, the influences of triethylamine on the discharge stability and line characteristics of a high-energy wavelength-selective TEA CO2 laser are experimentally studied. The laser has 49 lasing lines ranging from 9.23 mu m to 10.74 mu m, and the energy of the strongest lines is above 50 J. However, the energy of the laser pulses is very unstable. The discharge stability is improved considerably by adding small amounts of triethylamine in the working gas mixture. In addition, lines in the 9 mu m band are weakened greatly, and many of them even can no longer oscillate. In contrast, there are no distinct influences on the 10 mu m lines. The results obtained in this study demonstrate the applied range of triethylamine in stabilizing the discharges of wavelength-selective CO2 lasers. (C) 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.3530102]