CO Lasers from Lab to Fab

First demonstrated over fifty years ago, carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) lasers are similar technologies that took two different paths of development. CO₂ lasers are deployed extensively in a wide range of industrial applications, and their use continues to grow. In contrast, CO lasers were largely restricted to laboratory applications, primarily because it was found to be difficult to produce CO lasers which offered the same high level of reliability and lifetime as CO₂ lasers.