Usage of Energy Storage Capacitors in TE Gas Laser Pulsers

Abstract

An energy storage capacitor is crucial for both electrically pumped and optically pumped pulsed lasers. In electrically pumped lasers, the energy stored in the capacitors is directly deposited into the lasing medium, while in optically pumped lasers, it energizes the flash lamp that, in turn, pumps the lasing medium. We discuss here the application of energy storage capacitors in the operation of electrically pumped pulsed gas lasers. Increasing the operating pressure of the gain medium, a prerequisite for obtaining higher energy from the laser, has resulted in great advancements in the gas laser pulse technology. This progress has led to the development of transverse electric discharge pumping, enabling easy scalability of gas pressure and achievable output power. An ideal TE pulser efficiently charges the capacitor to an appropriate voltage with minimal energy dissipation on the charging element and facilitates a rapid and uniform transfer of this stored energy into the lasing medium before a glow-to-arc transition can set in. Various types of pulser circuits employed to energize pulsed gas lasers are described in this paper.