All-solid-state pulsers for gas laser excitation

From the point of view of reliability and long operating life, it is desirable for as much of the electrical system of a pulsed gas laser to make use of solid state devices. Until new solid state laser development catches up with performance levels of current repetitively pulsed excimer, TEA CO₂ and copper vapour lasers, it has to be accepted that a major component of the total system is basically gaseous electronics. However there is considerable scope to ensure that the rest of the system is of the reliable solid state variety. The use of thyristors as the primary switch, coupled to magnetic pulse compression is discussed in terms of the possible circuit formats and the capabilities of both thyristors and magnetic materials