A study of uv preionization pulsed tea CO₂ laser

Abstract

A uniform volumetric discharge was obtained by means of an auxiliary UV preionization in a home-made TEA CO 2 laser. The maximum output pulse energy of this laser system was about 12J per pulse with a pulse duration of 80 ns. The ratio of electric field to neutral particle density (E/N) in this laser was 7.6×10 -16 V cm 2 . The peak power and pulse shape of the laser were studied. The time delay between the predischarge and the maindischarge during the stable operation of this laser system has also been studied. It was observed that the laser was operating with uniform glow discharges when the time delayed between the predischarge and the maindischarge was in the range of 1.0 µs to 6.0 µs. The spark array used as a preionizer for producing the UV radiation in this system is new, simple, durable, and can be easily fabricated.