Multikilohertz TEA CO_2 laser driven by an all-solid-state exciter

摘要

A multikilohertz operation of a transversely excited atmospheric CO_2 laser driven by an all-solid-state exciter has been demonstrated. The exciter consists of a long life time high-voltage pulse generator employing a transistor equipment working along the principle of fourier synthesis. High voltage pulses with a maximum voltage of 50 kV, 2 mus pulse duration, and a maximum pulse repetitiion rate of 17 kHz ignite the laser gas discharge. The electrodes have to be insulated by a dielectricum like glass, which homogenizes the laser gas discharge so that no preionization is necessary. A small device of this multikilohertz TEA CO_2 laser reaches an average laser power of 140 W and a laser efficiency of 11 percent at a pulse repetition rate of 17 kHz.