| Summary: | A CO2-HN laser is designed and constructed. The use of hydrazoic acid, being highly explosive and toxic, requires a design where the gas handling and optical systems are located inside a fume hood with exhaust to the outside. The laser utilizes a pumping scheme where energy released by the photolysis of HN is used to create a population inversion in CO . The major highlights of the developmental work are: (1) design and fabrication of the laser tube and resonant cavity,(2) design, construction and operation of the HN generating and gas filling systems, and (3) flashlamp discharge circuit design and development of the charging control system. Operation of the laser is the subject of subsequent work with the system. Preliminary experiments and suggestions are included in this study. Furthermore the basic principles and equations governing the operation of a CO-HN laser are derived.
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