DEVELOPMENT OF A SLIDING DISCHARGE PUMPED HF LASER

Direct excitation by a surface sliding discharge is applied for the fi rst time to an HF laser. The laser operates at atmospheric pressure wi th a gas mixture of He/SF6/C3H8. Details are presented on the efficien cy of energy transfer, the dependence of laser performance on input en ergy deposition, circuit parameters and gas mixture. The F atom produc tion rate is estimated from the linear dependence of the specific outp ut energy on the electric charge passed through the discharge. Output energies of 135 mJ were obtained at 1.2% efficiency from a small activ e discharge of 10 cm(3) volume and 38 cm length. These values compare favourably with the values reported for similar laser systems, while t he maximum values of specific input and output energy extraction obtai ned, of 1700 and 15 J/l respectively, are among the highest reported f or non-chain-reaction type gas mixtures. These results demonstrate tha t the sliding discharge, although simple in design, is an efficient sc heme for developing gas discharge lasers.