MINIATURE TEA-CO2 LASER WITH SURFACE-WIRE-CORONA PREIONIZATION

This paper describes an experimental study of a miniature, UV-preionized TEA-CO2 laser with a new type of surface-wire-corona preionizer. We have developed a surface-wire-corona preionizer consisting of segmented columnar SrTiO3 dielectric and a fine wire strained on the dielectric surface, we believe for the first time. By applying this preionizer to the TEA-CO2 laser, efficient laser operation at an overall efficiency of 8.9% with an output energy of 114 mJ has been achieved from a small discharge volume of 5.8 cm3 with active length of 14.5 cm. This efficiency is comparable to the maximum one obtained with miniature TEA-CO2 laser reported up to now.