DocumentCode :
1148291
Title :
WA4--Intracavity breakdown in CO and CO2 lasers
Author :
Rockwood, S.D. ; Canavan, G.H. ; Proctor, W.A.
Author_Institution :
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, University of California, Los Alamos, NM
Volume :
9
Issue :
1
fYear :
1973
fDate :
1/1/1973 12:00:00 AM
Firstpage :
154
Lastpage :
157
Abstract :
The threshold for intracavity breakdown in large CO and CO2 lasers has been calculated from solutions for the electron-energy distribution function as a function of incident laser flux. For fluxes of high intensity and short duration, a threshold fluence of 
J/cm2for He/N2 /CO2 mixtures and 
J/cm2for He/CO is predicted. For breakdown at lower fluxes with pulses 
s, the threshold becomes flux dependent with values of fcw between 
W/cm2for typical He/N2 /CO2 mixtures and 
W/cm2for He/CO mixtures. Breakdown by pulses traversing laser-amplifier stages is also investigated using both the rate equation and coherent propagation formulation of the problem. It is found that in most cases of interest, breakdown occurs in the short-pulse regime and the coherent solution for the temporal structure is required.
J/cm2for He/N J/cm2for He/CO is predicted. For breakdown at lower fluxes with pulses s, the threshold becomes flux dependent with values of f W/cm2for typical He/N W/cm2for He/CO mixtures. Breakdown by pulses traversing laser-amplifier stages is also investigated using both the rate equation and coherent propagation formulation of the problem. It is found that in most cases of interest, breakdown occurs in the short-pulse regime and the coherent solution for the temporal structure is required.Keywords :
Distribution functions; Electric breakdown; Equations; Free electron lasers; Ionization; Laser excitation; Optical propagation; Optical pulses; Pulse amplifiers;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
0018-9197
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/JQE.1973.1077310
Filename :
1077310
Link To Document :
