THE INDUCTANCE AND RESISTANCE OF THE LASER DISCHARGE IN A PULSED GAS-LASER

Theoretical consideration of the discharge of a laser channel takes pl ace in this work, This leads to formulas for the resistance and induct ance, The resistance depends on the total charge in the discharge volu me while the inductance depends on the dimensions of the discharge vol ume, Generally, the inductance increases as electrode length and disch arge thickness decreases and more so as these become equal, On the oth er hand the inductance increases as interelectrode distance increases. However, discharge dimensions depend on the drift velocity of the flo wing charges creating centripetal Lorenztian forces which constrict th e volume of the laser channel, Consequently, the microscopic parameter s of the plasma, total charge and drift velocity are responsible for t he electrical macroscopical characteristics' resistance and inductance respectively, Nevertheless, these microscopic parameters are formed t hrough the external driving circuit and especially through its capacit ance which strongly influences the discharge of the laser channel, Par ticularly, the values of the capacitances form the total charge, while the coupling of the capacitances in the circuit forms the drift veloc ity, These were inferred dealing with the two most common circuits use d in pulsed gas lasers, namely the ''doubling circuit'' and the ''char ge transfer circuit'' for all possible combinations of capacitance all ocation.