Sliding discharge in CO2 and excimer lasers

Published data on the use of sliding discharges in CO2 and excimer lasers are reviewed. It is shown that sliding discharges can serve as the basis of extended open-type UV sources which (in terms of their energetic, spectral, and temporal characteristics) may be applied as preionizers and plasma electrodes in pulsed and repetitively pulsed lasers. Plasma electrodes in pulsed molecular lasers can compete with beams of accelerated electrons for the preionization of the active medium.