Development of a discharge in pulsed metal-vapour lasers

An analysis is made of the electric characteristics of the exciting discharge in pulsed metal vapour lasers. The initial stages of the current and voltage pulses are given most attention. Our estimates are based on a series of recent experimental results and of calculations, obtained for typical operating conditions of present-day metal vapour lasers. The initial development of the discharge is shown to depend only slightly on the conductivity of the hot part of the discharge tube, where a metal vapour coexists with a buffer gas. The effects of the electrode properties and of the processes in cold near-electrode regions on laser operation are discussed.