The inductance and resistance of the laser discharge in a pulsed gas laser

Abstract

Theoretical consideration of the discharge of a laser channel takes place in this work. This leads to formulas for the resistance and inductance. The resistance depends on the total charge in the discharge volume while the inductance depends on the dimensions of the discharge volume. Generally, the inductance increases as electrode length and discharge thickness decreases and more so as these become equal. On the other hand the inductance increases as interelectrode distance increases. However, discharge dimensions depend on the drift velocity of the flowing charges creating centripetal Lorenztian forces which constrict the volume of the laser channel. Consequently, the microscopic parameters of the plasma, total charge and drift velocity are responsible for the electrical macroscopical characteristics' resistance and inductance respectively. Nevertheless, these microscopic parameters are formed through the external driving circuit and especially through its capacitance which strongly influences the discharge of the laser channel. Particularly, the values of the capacitances form the total charge, while the coupling of the capacitances in the circuit forms the drift velocity. These were inferred dealing with the two most common circuits used in pulsed gas lasers, namely the "doubling circuit" and the "charge transfer circuit" for all possible combinations of capacitance allocation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>