Power-supply circuit and dynamic characteristics of a discharge in a nitrogen laser

Results are presented of an experimental investigation into the dynamic characteristics of a pump discharge in a nitrogen laser having an output power of $\sim1$ MW. Absolute values of the energy input to the discharge and of the discharge resistance were measured over a pressure range of 30–300 Torr with a time resolution of $\sim10^{-9}$ sec. New criteria are considered, on the basis of the results obtained, to act as a guide in developing high-power gas lasers using a Blumlein pulse-shaping line to energize the pump discharge. It is shown that more than 50% of the energy initially stored in the power-supply circuit can be fed into the discharge at a pump power of $\sim10$ MW/cm$^3$ under overvoltage conditions. The similarity between the dynamic current-voltage characteristics of N$_2$- and CO$_2$-laser atmospheric pressure discharges is mentioned. A simple circuit for supplying power to a multimodule laser is proposed, which allows operation as an oscillator–amplifier system. In the amplifier regime, lasing in XeF was obtained with an output energy of $\gtrsim20$ mJ.