Highly efficient chemical HF laser with inductive stabilisation of the discharge

A chemical electric-discharge laser with a new design of the electrode unit was developed. Both electrodes consisted of a set of electrically insulated plates connected to a common bus of a pump source with separate stabilising inductances. It was found that a stable diffuse discharge occurred in such a device in a wide range of active-gas pressures 20 - 130 Torr for an electrode gap of 10 - 50 mm. A radiation energy of 1.2 J and a technical laser efficiency of 3.5% were achieved for an H2 - SF6 mixture. (lasers)