20-J nanosecond-pulse CO_2 laser system based on an injection-mode-locked oscillator

Abstract
Recent advances in injection mode locking and high-power 10-μm pulse selection have been incorporated into a high-power CO2 laser system built around a single five-liter TEA CO2 gain module. A pulse selected from a line-tuned [to P(20)] injection-mode-locked oscillator was amplified to produce a 20-J, 3-nsec pulse with a main-pulse-to-prepulse contrast ratio of >107:1.