Electric discharge chamber for coaxial CO2 lasers

The results are given of investigations of the basic characteristics of a coaxial discharge chamber with gas preionization by short high-voltage pulses. Effective gas preionization made it possible to eliminate ballast resistors from the power supply circuit, and this raised the laser operating efficiency. The comparative characteristics of metallic and glass discharge chambers are presented. The possibility is mentioned of laser operation in both the pulsed and cw regimes.