Controlled switching of 10-micrometer radiation using semiconductor etalons

An 80-MHz train of pulses, each lasting-200 psec, has been switched from the output of a -1-W cw CO 2 laser. The switching element, an uncoated Cr-doped GaAs 6talon, was controlled by the -1-W average power output of an argon-ion laser. Sensitive picosecond switching, pulse differentiation, and contrast enhancement of 10-,im pulses are also demonstrated using high-finesse 6talons. The sensitivity of plasma-based devices for the control of -10Am and longer wavelength radiation is emphasized, and the physics of a new device (a plasma-beam deflector) is discussed.