Simultaneous Measurements Of Gain And Spontaneous Emission Noise In Rf Excited CO2 Amplifying Media

We report the results of studies intended to characterise the amplifying behaviour of rf-excited CO2 discharge modules in the context of assessing their potential application as optical preamplifiers. The dependences of the small-signal gain coefficient and the amplified spontaneous emission noise power on rf input power density have been measured simultaneously for various gas mixtures and pressures.