Parameters affecting the power distribution in the radio frequency discharge of large-area diffusion-cooled CO/sub 2/ lasers

An efficient power extraction from radio frequency (RF) excited CO/sub 2/ lasers can only be obtained by means of a uniform discharge power distribution. This distribution is mainly determined by the line-effect produced by the discharge structure. In this paper we report on a set of measurements performed on the luminosity of a large-area discharge showing the role played by parameters such as local gas temperature, density, and composition. In particular, the existence is shown of conditions in which these parameters move distributions away from the known sheaths driven lossless line behavior.