Characteristics of doubling circuits used in gas laser excitation: application to the N/sub 2/ laser

The electrical characteristics of a doubling circuit (or LC-inversion circuit) used to excite a TEA (transversely excited atmospheric) N/sub 2/ laser have been studied, and a theoretical model for the voltage and current oscillations in the circuit is proposed. The theoretical predictions are in excellent agreement with the experimental data, and thus the shape of the voltage and current waveforms in doubling circuits can be predicted from the circuit parameters. With this method, the nonmeasurable quantities of inductance and resistance of the laser gas discharge and their dependence on the electrode gap can be determined. The theoretical treatment described can be easily applied to any type of gas using doubling-circuit excitation, such as excimer lasers.<
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