Investigation and operation of a carbon dioxide TEA laser
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Authors
Bassett, William Frederick
Subjects
Advisors
Ceglio, N.M.
Date of Issue
1973-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
Lasing has been achieved at 10.6 microns using a double
discharge C02 TEA configuration. The double discharge configuration
utilizes three electrodes. The third, "trigger,"
electrode in this particular device consists of glass encapsulated
nichrome wires. The third electrode is responsible
for corona formation—the dominant preionization mechanism.
A parametric analysis of the discharge was conducted. The
discharge was found to be dependent on the gas mixture, the
gas flow rate, the voltage rise time and the voltage pulse
shape. It was found that satisfactory discharge operation
leading to lasing was limited to a very small region of
parameter space having a helium percentage of not less than90% (with 5% C0~ and 5% N„), and a rise time on the order of
3 usee. Lasing action yielded 5 joules/pulse. The energy
was limited by the optical components used, and it is felt
that the energy can be increased to approximately 18 joules/
pulse using different circuit parameters in conjunction with
improved optical components.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Physics
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.