Magnetically induced pulser laser excitation

Abstract

A novel excitation scheme has been developed for excimer discharge lasers. The technique uses pulse transformer technology to induce a fast, high voltage pulse directly onto a ground potential laser electrode resulting in the breakdown of the laser gas mix. Saturation of the pulse transformer core inductance then permits efficient energy transfer from the main energy storage circuit into the discharge. When this excitation technique was used in a XeCl laser an output energy density of 2.5 J/l and an overall electrical to optical efficiency of 2% were obtained. The technique appears promising for the development of high energy, high average power excimer lasers.