FREQUENCY STABILIZATION OF THE SEQUENCE-BAND CO2-LASER USING THE 4.3-MU-M FLUORESCENCE METHOD

The saturated 4.3-mu m fluorescence stabilization method is applied to the 00 degrees 2-[10 degrees 1, 02 degrees 1](I,II) sequence band CO2 laser transitions. For this purpose, the 4.3-mu m fluorescence is obs erved using an external longitudinal CO2 absorption cell heated to 300 degrees C. The dependence of the frequency stability upon the gas tem perature and pressure in the cell as well as laser parameters have bee n carried out in absolute frequency scale with the help of a two-chann el heterodyne system. Under optimal conditions, the standard deviation of the beat note frequency between sequence band and regular band las ers for 30 s averaging time is less than 20 kHz, and the long-term sta bility and reproducibility is achieved at about 10 kHz.