ONE-DIMENSIONAL COMPUTATION OF DISCHARGE-PUMPED EXCIMER LASERS UNDER REPETITIVE OPERATIONS

Zero-dimensional numerical computation of electrical. discharge-pumped excimer lasers is extended to a one-dimensional model that is used to study the effects of the density perturbations of the background neut ral gas and the nonuniform predischarge (which means preionization in this paper) electron density on the transition of the uniform discharg e to the nonuniform prestage state leading to the onset of are formati on (which is not included in this particular model). It was found that a local density depression of 1% or an enhancement of the local elect ric field of 1% can increase the local energy input by several hundred percent. The initial electron density perturbations, on the other han d, are found to modify the energy input by the same order of magnitude as the initial perturbations.