Study of avalanche discharge lasers

Basic research carried out at the University of California, San Diego, on the study of avalanche discharge lasers is summarized. This research has resulted in many important scientific discoveries and generated much basic data which are of great value in the engineering development of high-power, short-wavelength gas lasers. The most noteworthy of these is our discovery that X-ray is far superior to both ultraviolet light and electron beams as a preionization source for homogeneous initiation of very large volume, pulsed avalanche discharges at high gas pressures. Another important discovery is that such pulsed discharges can be stably sustained at high current densities over relatively long periods of time using suitable pulse forming networks. However, in the case of the rare gas halogen excimers, the laser pulse duration is often kinetics-limited.