Formation of a volume discharge for the pumping of CO2 lasers

An investigation was made of the characteristics of the formation of a self-sustained volume discharge for the pumping of CO₂ lasers, which involved a preliminary filling of a discharge gap by an electron flux from an auxiliary-discharge plasma. It was found that this method was suitable for large interelectrode gaps. It was found that distortion of the electric field in the gap by the space charge of the electron flux played an important role in the formation of the discharge. It was found that the electrodes could be profiled dynamically during propagation of an electron flux through the discharge gap and a self-sustained volume discharge could form in systems with a strongly inhomogeneous initial distribution of the electric field between the electrodes.