Vibrational relaxation of highly excited CO molecules on CO2 molecules in the active medium of a CO laser

The stationary vibrational distribution functions (VDFs) of CO molecules are measured in the axial region of a glow discharge in a glass tube at different concentrations of CO2 molecules. The relaxation constants of CO(v) molecules in excited vibrational states colliding with CO2 molecules are estimated for high vibrational levels with v = 17-29 by comparing experimental and calculated VDFs of CO molecules. Mechanisms explaining large relaxation rates are discussed. The dependence of the emission spectrum of a CO laser on the concentration of CO2 molecules is studied experimentally. (active media)