Investigation of a nitrogen laser excited by sliding discharges

Abstract

Sliding discharges or lasers along the surface of a dielectric has many applications as preioniser, plasma electrode, and direct excitation source.1-3 In this paper we report on a study of a simple N2 laser employing single or twin sliding discharges for direct excitation. The addition of SF6 is found to improve laser performance. The polarity of the applied voltage is of great importance for the output characteristics of the sliding discharge lasers.