Abstract

A major obstacle in development of high-power CO₂ lasers has been the occurrence of electro-thermal instabilities in the gas discharge. This has led to development of numerous stabilization techniques, including external ionization. More recently, it has been demonstrated that the interaction of the discharge current with an externally applied magnetic field can induce significant motion of electrons and positive ions within the glow discharge. Flow is also imparted in the neutral gas via collisions. These processes have been shown to help suppress instabilities in both transverse¹ and coaxial² discharge configurations.

© 1986 Optical Society of America