Amplitude modulation and power control of a pulse-preionized transverse-flow transverse-discharge CO/sub 2/ laser

This paper describes the results of an amplitude modulation experiment performed on a pulse-preionized transverse-flow transverse-discharge CO/sub 2/ laser. The amplitude modulation of the laser power was achieved by pulsewidth modulation of the discharge current using a switched-mode power supply. The causes of growth of discharge instability observed during the experiment with long excitation pulses are explained. The power control of the laser using this technique has been studied and this method is compared with the conventional method where the discharge current level is varied to achieve the laser-power control.