NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF THE ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL BEHAVIOR OF A PULSEDNITROGEN LASER THROUGH TIME-DEPENDENT RESISTANCES AND INDUCTANCES

In the present work, a comprehensive theoretical investigation of the performance of a pulsed nitrogen laser is realized through the time-de pendent resistances and inductances of its electric discharge. This is the first computational laser model that takes this effect into accou nt. These time-dependent resistances and inductances were determined d irectly through a method, that exploits the experimentally recorded vo ltage and current signals. When time-dependent quantities are used in the differential equations of the electric circuit and the laser rate equations, the solutions are in excellent agreement with experimental measurements. Particularly, the two discharges in the spark-gap and la ser chamber create a high peak in the inductance values. This occurs i n the first 40 ns of the corresponding discharge. These peaks strongly influence the electrical and optical behaviour of the system. Concret ely, these peaks reduce the optical pulse energy in our nitrogen laser by about 40%, in comparison to the case that assumes constant inducta nces.