Abstract

Gas flow disturbances (e.g., adiabatic expansion of a heated gas, boundary layers, acoustic waves) take place in high-repetition-rate (HRR) pulsed gas lasers of both types: in electron-beam-initiated sustainer-discharge machines as well as in UV-preionized self-sustained discharge lasers. These disturbances affect output energy and temporal development of a HRR laser pulse. Thermoacoustic instability can exist in specific conditions in both carbon dioxide and excimer HRR lasers.

© 1984 Optical Society of America