Stable and efficient operation of a large-bore copper vapor laser with funnel-shaped, grooved copper electrodes

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Using an appropriate design of electrodes and adjustment of the thyratron decoupling circuit as a high-repetition-rate and high-voltage switch, very stable operation of a copper vapor laser at high pressures was obtained. This was achieved by canceling the intense filamentation in the laser plasma at the higher pressures. The transverse grooves on the inner surface of the funnel-shaped copper electrodes permit operation of the laser up to 100 torr. This design reduces the cathode-fall voltage, and as a result reduces the thermal loading in the cathode-fall region. The optimum pressure was 80 torr. At this condition the output power was more than that observed with expensive molybdenum electrodes in a similar laser system.