Parametric study of a constant E/N pumped high-power KrF* laser

The application of a novel constant voltage excitation technique has led to the production of volume glow discharges in a scalable multiatmosphere rare gas halide laser. Such discharges are obtained using a high-voltage discharge circuit which optimizes energy transfer from the power conditioning system into the load, up to the voltage limit of the system components. A detailed parametric study has been carried out for KrF* at pressures up to 6 atm and output energies in excess of 0.6 J were obtained from an active volume of 0.18 l.