Longitudinal disch. CO2 laser with pulsed pre-ionization

Abstract

A novel pre-ionization scheme of helical transverse-pulsed pre-ionization in a longitudinal discharge CO2 laser is presented. The laser tube is made of glass with inner diameter of 7.5mm and discharge length of 50cm. The laser performance characteristics as functions of parameters, such as pressure, charging capacitance and applied voltage, are investigated. Compared with the same laser structure without pre-ionization, the maximum pulse energy improves by 23%, the optimum electro-optical efficiency increases by 31%, and the specific output energy reaches 26 J/(L-atm).