High-pulse-rate glow-discharge stabilization by gas flow

When a transverse-discharge CO2 laser with forced flow is pulsed rapidly, the minimum time between arc-free pulses is substantially greater than the time predicted by the ratio of electrode width to gas velocity. The maximum pulse rate is predicted accurately by flow-model solutions that determine the time required to remove the glow-discharge products from the interelectrode space. The predictions were experimentally verified to a maximum pulse rate of 1 kHz using planar electrodes in a closed-cycle wind tunnel.