EFFICIENT ELECTRIC-DISCHARGE CO2-LASER WITH A PREPULSE FORMED BY A GENERATOR WITH AN INDUCTIVE ENERGY-STORAGE DEVICE

Results are presented of experimental investigations of a CO2 laser pu mped by a self-sustained discharge from a generator with an inductive energy storage device and a semiconductor current chopper. It is shown that the energy stored in the inductance of the discharge circuit can form a prepulse capable of depositing most of the energy in the activ e mixture for near-optimum values of the parameter E/p. A radiation en ergy of 3 J was achieved in an electric-discharge laser with a 0.181 l iter active volume with a 17% efficiency relative to the energy stored in the capacitive storage device. (C) 1998 American Institute of Phys ics. [S1063-7850(98)02802-X].