Industrial laser systems handle high power consumptions and may function under undesirable operating conditions if the systems are not properly maintained. It is sometimes difficult to diagnose why a laser is not functioning properly because the optical output is the result of complex interactions among many parameters such as the total gas pressure, effectiveness of the laser cooling system, operating environment, and gradual deterioration of laser components. In this paper, a dynamic power distribution model is developed to characterize the power distribution of a high-power transverse-flow DC-excited CO2 laser to account for dynamic effects such as continuously ramping up and down the laser output power and the cyclic nature of the chiller. The model contains the essential dynamic features of a CO2 laser system and yields solutions sufficiently accurate for practical diagnostic purposes.
Nonlinear optical compression of high-power 10-µm CO2 laser pulses in gases and semiconductors