Feasibility of initiation of pulsed chemical lasers by an optical discharge

An analysis is made of the feasibility of initiation of pulsed chemical lasers by high-power infrared radiation when an optical discharge develops in their gaseous mixture media. It was found that this method could be used for efficient initiation of high-pressure lasers by CO₂ and HF laser radiation with a peak intensity of 10–100 GW/cm² and a pulse duration of 1–10 ns.