SINGLE SWITCH AS A DRIVER OF 2 HIGH-REPETITION-RATE LASERS

Generation of two synchronized high-voltage discharges at a 200-Hz rep etition rate by rotating a suitably configured circular dielectric pla te between two pairs of spark gap electrodes is reported. The delay be tween the discharges could be varied from less than a microsecond to m ore than a millisecond by locating the electrodes of the spark gaps ju diciously with respect to the passing holes oi the dielectric plate. T he performance of the device has been tested by switching a total of 2 .5 kW power on two identical dummy loads resembling a typical transver sely excited (TE) laser in terms of resistance. Operation of the switc h in the triggered mode has been achieved by use oi an optical sensor. The test on a Peal transversely excited atmosphere (TEA) CO2 laser lo ad was limited to a 50-Hz repetition rate. inadequate cooling of the l aser gas mixture and the accumulation of discharge products led to arc ing beyond this pulse repetition frequency. (C) 1997 Society of Photo- Optical Instrumentation Engineers.