ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a review of the important kinetic processes in CO2 transversely excited atmospheric (TEA) lasers and outlines a number of considerations of importance in the design of TEA laser devices and systems. It presents kinetic models for an oscillator and an amplifier and discusses various parametric trends. The chapter discusses discharge effects, including preionization, gas chemistry, and acoustic effects, together with typical circuit designs. It also outlines frequency control techniques, with emphasis on hybrid lasers and injection control and describes a number of representative TEA laser systems. The rate equations for the various vibrational temperatures are derived by writing equations for the rate of change of quanta in the various systems. The cross section for stimulated emission will first be derived for the case in which the rotational levels are in equilibrium with the gas temperature, and the analysis will then be extended to include finite rotational relaxation rates.
