Abstract
The discharge current in a high-power pulsed copper-vapor laser (CVL) is usually very high (i.e., 1-5 kA) that induces a large abnormal cathode fall (1-2 kV) within the small cathode sheath (i.e., less than 100 micron).1 This inevitable high discharge impedance using conventional electrodes results in a large amount of thermal energy deposited into the cathode-fall region in a short time duration (200-500 ns). This high-rate of energy deposition is prone to plasma thermal instability2 that usually results in highly constricted discharge at the cathode accompanied with severe electrode sputtering and erosion.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
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