Operation and Performance of a Two-Stage Blumlein Transversely Excited Atmospheric Nitrogen Laser

Abstract

In this paper we present a new electrical arrangement, a two-stage Blumlein circuit, for the excitation of a nanosecond transversely excited atmospheric nitrogen ( TEA-N2) laser. The circuit consists of three discharge loops controlled by two spark gaps. By means of temporal adjustment in the second two-electrode spark gap, the laser channel was made to break down at the highest possible overvoltage. This produced a high laser output with low shot-to-shot fluctuation which was correlated to the enhanced discharge characteristics in the laser channel namely, high current and low plasma resistance.