Aug 29 2013
Carbon monoxide (CO) laser offers high average power in repeated pulsed modes and an effective control of pulse duration and output energy. It can be operated in both mid- and far-infrared spectral ranges of 5 to 6 µm.
It has been found that the efficiency of CO laser increases with the decreasing gas temperature, which in turn decreases the threshold lasing bands to lower vibrational bands. It also exhibits a wide-band laser spectrum because of its cascading laser activity.
Laser Properties
| Laser Properties |
| Laser type |
Gas |
| Pump source |
Electrical discharge |
| Operating Wavelengths |
| 2.6 to 4 µm |
| 4.8 to 8.3 µm |
Applications
The radiation emitted by CO laser has good cutting and coagulating characteristics than that of CO2 laser, and hence CO laser is commonly used for medical applications. Laser angioplasty system that is used for treating acute myocardial infarction, employs CO laser. It is also employed in aerospace science and technology as its power and efficiency is equivalent to that of CO laser.
Sources and Further Reading