Extended gas lifetime operation of a miniature transversely excited atmosphere CO2 laser doped with tripropylamine

Abstract
Long life (≳106 shots), sealed operation of a repetitively pulsed (4 pps), compact (5‐cm3 active volume), transversely excited atmosphere (TEA) CO2 laser has been achieved using an efficient corona‐type preionization and traces of tripropylamine (TPA) as gas additive. The use of TPA has enabled extended operation with a maximum output peak power of about 350 kW.