Correction of large-scale inhomogeneities of a pulsed non-self-sustained discharge

A contactless method was developed for the determination of local characteristics of a discharge in a pulsed electron-beam-controlled CO₂ laser. An experimental study was made of the influence of the spatial inhomogeneity of the electric field on the stability of the discharge and on the laser efficiency. A method was developed for calculating the electrode geometry which made it possible to improve considerably the inhomogeneity of the electric field and to increase the laser efficiency by 15–20%.