Properties of a gas laser considered as a power-supply load

Some properties of a gas laser, considered as a load across a constant-voltage or a constant-current source, were investigated. The static and the dynamic resistances of an electric discharge in a plasma were determined experimentally as a function of the discharge current. It was found that the maximum permissible depth of modulation in the control of the laser radiation by the discharge current should be selected on the basis of extreme values of the working current as given by the current-voltage characteristic of the plasma discharge because the nonlinear negative differential resistance of this discharge could give rise to oscillations in the laser-power supply system.