Space-charge plasma-circuit instability in cw CO2 laser axial discharge plasmas

Abstract

The intense voltage spikes of about 10 I-ls width in high voltage direct current (dc) axial discharges, particularly, in continuous wave (cw) CO 2 laser systems, are analyzed by a bound plasma model subject to external circuit constraint. The spikes, whose amplitude grows from cathode to anode, are believed to be a manifestation of the convective space-charge instability of the ion acoustic plasma-circuit mode.