Multikilowatt TEA CO2 laser driven by an all-solid-state exciter

摘要

A multikilowatt operation of a multijoule transversely excited atmospheric CO$-2$/ laser driven by an all-solid-state exciter has been demonstrated. The exciter consists of a high- voltage pulse generator employing a newly developed semiconductor stack switch, 48-series and 2-parallel insulated gate bipolar transistors, and a two-stage magnetic pulse compressor. The maximum average laser power of 4.6 kW was obtained with an overall efficiency of 10.5% at a repetition rate of 550 pps. The maximum repetition rate of 1100 pps was attained with an average power of 3.4 kW and an overall efficiency of 7.4%.