Electrical characteristics of a doubledischarge TEA CO2 laser

P. E. Dyer and D. J. James

Citation: Journal of Applied Physics 46, 1679 (1975); doi: 10.1063/1.321771

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 Electrical characteristics of a double-discharge TEA CO2 laser
P. E. Dyer and D. J. James
Department of Applied Physics, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, England
(Received 24 July 1974)

The volume-discharge and arc-formation characteristics of a double-discharge self-sustaining TEA CO 2

laser have been studied. The results indicate that the discharge is a form of high-pressure glow of
limited stability. An experimental study of arc formation indicates that this may be a result of
ionization and attachment instabilities which are predicted to grow in the transient discharge. A
simple technique based on the experimental steady-state discharge characteristic has been used to
maximize the stable energy density in a 7.5-cm gap system operating at atmospheric pressure.
PACS numbers: 42.60.N, 42.60.C, 52.80.M

I. INTRODUCTION citation circuit (Fig. 1) is formed by an energy storage

capacitor C1 which is either directly charged to the re-
The efficient operation of pulse transversely excited
quired voltage, - V e , or is the equivalent capacitor of
atmospheric-pressure (TEA) CO 2 lasers requires the
a Marx generator and a pulse-shaping network formed
production of high-energy-density volume discharges in
by an inductor L1 and a capacitor C 2 • A small capacitor,
COiN/He gas mixtures. Such discharges have been ob-
C3 (C 3 « C 2 ), is included in the trigger-anode line to pro-
tained using pin-bar1 and double-discharge electrodes/,3
tect the trigger assembly. In our system the earth re-
ultraviolet preionized 4 - 7 and electron-beam-sustained 8
ference resistor RE in Fig. 1 has a value such that the
devices. Except for the electron-beam sustainer laser
time constant R E C1 is much greater than the excitation
and, under certain conditions, 7 the ultraviolet pre-
pulse duration T p' This resistor can, however, be used
ionized device, the discharges produced in this manner
to control the voltage waveform by chOOSing C1R E - T p • 19
are self -sustaining in the sense that ionization is pro-
duced by electron multiplication in the applied electric Prior to breakdown of the anode-cathode gap, the volt-
field. The maximum discharge energy density that can age variation at the laser is (neglecting losses)
be achieved with such devices is, however, generally
limited by the onset of arCing in the interelectrode vol-
V = - [V eC/(C1 + C 2 )](1-coswt),
ume; that is, the formation of a filamentary low-impe- where
dance discharge utilizing only a small fraction of the
electrode area. (1)

Information on the nature and stability of pulsed self-
sustaining volume discharges can be obtained by study-
ing their dynamiC electrical characteristics. Investiga-
tions of the electrical characteristics of reSistively
loaded pin-bar discharges, 9,10 double -dischargel l ,12 and
ultraviolet preionized systems, 13,14 and the stability of
high-energy-density CO 2-He discharges 15 have been re-
ported. Theoretical studies of the discharge stability
have also led to an improved understanding of volume-
excited CO2 laser systems. 16,17 The preionization re-
quirements for initiating uniform volume discharges
have recently been discussed. 18
We have investigated the volume-discharge and arc-
discharge formation characteristics of a double-dis-
Equation (1) indicates that this circuitry gives a delay
between initiating the voltage pulse and the attainment of
the breakdown voltage VB of the anode-cathode gap and
that this delay can be controlled by the circuit param-
eters. Such a delay is necessary to allow the most effec-
tive use of the preionizing trigger discharge which takes
place between the cathode blades and the trigger elec-
trodes. Delays of -1-3 j.J.S satisfactorily initiate homo-
geneous arc-free discharges. The time-delay require-
ments have been discussed by Pan et al. 19 who assume
that the preionization charges are liberated by a coronal-
type discharge. The glass dielectric between the trigger
wires and the cathode blades serves to limit the trigger
-Vc

charge CO 2 laser system 3 ,19, 20 which. is excited using a

simple pulse-shaping network (PSN). Details of laser
systems which utilize this excitation scheme have been
described elsewhere. 20,21 The electrical characteristics
of the transient volume discharge lead to the conclusion
that it is a high -pressure glow of limited stability. A
study of these characteristics has allowed us to improve
the stable discharge energy density of a 7.5 -cm-gap
C,
discharge module.

II. ELECTRODE CONFIGURATION AND PULSED

CIRCUITRY
The double-discharge electrode configuration, shown
schematically in Fig. 1, consists of a plane aluminium
anode and an aluminium cathode blade structure with
triggering provided by glaSS-insulated wires. 3,21 The ex-
FIG. 1. Double-discharge electrode configuration and pulse
circuitry: a is the anode, k is the cathode, and T is the trigger
assembly. C t is a single energy storage capacitOt' charged to
- Ve or the equivalent capacitor of a Marx generator which
erects to produce a voltage - Ve.

1679 Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 46, No.4, April 1975 Copyright © 1975 American Institute of Physics 1679

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(a)
v region towards the end of the current pulse, This is
(b)
FIG. 2. Voltage (V=20 kV/div) and current ([=1 kA/div)
traces for C0.!/N2 /He discharges at atmospheric pressure.
(a) Uniform volume discharge. (b) Effect of an arc formed in
the latter stage of the discharge.
discharge current density and distribute the preionizing
discharge uniformly over the cathode,
The main current pulses produced with the circuitry
shown in Fig, 1 can extend for many microseconds be-
cause, after the initial rapid discharge of capacitor C 2 ,
the energy stored in C1 is supplied to the discharge re-
latively slowly through the inductor Lp At the break-
down voltage VB' capacitor C2 stores energy tc 2 V1 so
that if C1 is initially charged to Va the energy discharge
on the "slow" time scale L- (L1 C1)1 /2] is t( C1 ~ - C2V;),
The duration of the current pulse can be controlled,
within the limits imposed by the voltage rise-time re-
quirements, by L1 and the ratio C/Cl' An increased
duration is obtained by reducing C.j C1 and, for a con-
stant energy discharge, this is found to give a some-
what more efficient laser pump pulse 21 ; generally we
find C.jC 1 ::::0,4-0,8 gives an efficient pump pulse con-
sistent with reliable arc -free operation,
III. VOLUME·DISCHARGE CHARACTERISTICS
To obtain information on the temporal development of
the discharge, measurements of the discharge voltage
and current were made using a capacitative voltage di-
vider probe and a current transformer (English Electric
9LC93), respectively. For these experiments the elec-
trodes were housed in a Perspex enclosure which was
provided with a regulated CO.jN.jHe mixture at atmos-
pheric pressure flowing at -10 I min-1 •
Typical voltage-current traces for a volume discharge
excited by a two-stage Marx-PSN circuit are shown in
Fig. 2(a). It can be seen that soon after the main gap
breaks down the voltage falls rapidly as the capacitor
1680 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 46, No.4, April 1975
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C2 discharges; subsequently, the voltage increases as
the energy remaining in C2 is discharged through L 1 ,
For this circuit, with C/C 1 =0.4 and L1 =25 liR, the
current pulses extends for about 4 /lS. In Fig, 3, tran-
sient voltage-current characteristics for volume dis-
charges are shown for circuits having different values of
the ratio C.j C 1 • With C.j C1 = 0, 9, the V-I characteris-
tic is Similar to that obtained with resistively loaded
pin-bar electrodes excited by means of a single capac-
itor discharge. 9 As the ratio C.jC 1 is decreased, how-
ever, the effect of the shaping network becomes appar-
ent and, as illustrated in Fig, 3, with C.jC 1 =0,4 the
characteristic exhibits a negative dynamic resistance
produced by an upswing in voltage during the decay of
the current pulse [Fig. 2(a)] which results when a sig-
nificant fraction of stored energy is discharged on the
slow time scale [- (L 1C1)1 /2]. Observation of the V-I
characteristics of several systems under different oper-
ating conditions showed that the circuit configuration
and discharge energy loading played a critical role in
determining the form of the characteristic in region BC
[see Fig. 3(b)] while the behavior in region AB was sim-
ilar in each case,
The loading provided by the discharge was studied by
measuring the discharge resistivity p at peak current
as a function of the peak curtent density J p • The results
of measurements on several systems are shown in Fig.
4, For a given system, J p was controlled by the charg-
ing voltage V c of capacitor C1 ' At first it would appear
that J p should be independent of V c since the initial dis-
charge is characterized by capacitor C2 charged to the
gap breakdown voltage VB' Qualitatively, however, the
DISCHARGE 60
VOLTAGE kV
1.0
20
oL--------'---------'
o
DISCHARGE CURRENT kA
FIG. 3. Discharge V-I characteristics (C0.!/N2 /He, l:l:S).
0: two-stage Marx-PSN excitation; Ct = O. 05 IJ. F;
C2 = O. 045 ).IF; L = 26 ).IH; Vc = 54 kV; and discharge volume,
1.8 1. D.: two-stage Marx-PSN excitation; C t = 0.05 IJ.F;
C2 = O. 02 IJ.F; L = 22 IJ.H; Vc = 54 kV; and discharge volume,
1. 251.
P.E. Dyer and D.J. James 1680

1000
'00
to
FIG. 4. Discharge resistivity at peak current as a function of
peak current density (C0 2 : N2 : He, 1: 1 : 8). 0: electrode
spacing, 2.5 cm: discharge volume, 0.2 1. ... : electrode
spacing, 3.5 cm: discharge volume, 0.2 1. ~: electrode
spacing, 5.0 cm: discharge volume 1. 25 1.
dependence arises because of the small but increasing
overvoltage maintained on the gap during the current
growth phase when the leading edge of the voltage pulse
rises more steeply, Consideration of Eq. (1) indicates
that this rate increases when V c is increased. The over-
voltage controls the ionization rate and hence the peak
current discharged by C 2 •
The results in Fig. 4 show that the discharge resis-
tivity falls with increasing current density, from
-1400 51 cm -2 at 5 A cm -2 to less than 500 51 cm at
20 A cm- 2. The resistivity was found to be relatively in-
sensitive to changes in the CO/N 2 ratio but varied rap-
idly with helium concentration in the mixture; for ex-
ample, a 10% change in the helium concentration of a
1: 1: 8 COiN/He mixture produced -80% change in
resistivity.
The transient electrical characteristics of the diffuse
volume discharge are consistent with the discharge being
a form of high-pressure glow; it is well known that
pulsed discharges in high -pressure gases pass through
glow phases prior to the formation of a constricted high-
ly conducting channel. 22,23 From Fig, 4 the product Jpp,
which defines the average discharge electric field at
peak current, is found within the experimental error
to be independent of the current density and the elec-
trode spacing, Since the cathode fall is typically no more
than a few hundred volts, 24 the steady-state ratio of the
electric field strength to gas particle density E/ N in
the positive column is found to be 2,8 x 10-16 V cm 2 for a
1: 1 : 8 COiN/He mixture at atmospheric pressure.
This result is in good agreement with measurements
reported by Denes and Lowke, 12 For comparison, E/ N
values in the positive columns of transient high-pres-
sure glows in pure N2 and CO 2 are considerably higher
and have been measured to be 1, 03 x 10-15 and 1. 07
x 10-15 V cm 2, respectively. 23
When diffusion can be neglected the time-varying
electron density ne in the positive column can be de-
scribed by2S
1681 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 46, No.4, April 1975
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(2)
the negative ion density n_ by
dn_
tit = W(3ne - Kn.n_ , (3)
and the electron current density by
J=neeW.
Here O! is the ionization coefficient, (3 is the attachment
coefficient, W is the electron drift velocity, 'Y is the
electron-ion recombination coefficient, K is the ion-ion
recombination coefficient, and n. is the positive ion
20
-, density. fu Eqs. (2) and (3) the effect of detachment has
AJ04P CJ04
been neglected.
Denes and Lowke 12 have shown by comparing their re-
sults for CO 2 laser gas mixtures with theoretical calcu-
lations that, in the steady state, electron loss through
electron-ion recombination is small compared with that
due to dissociative attachment to CO 2 over a wide range
of current densities. In this case (dJ/ dt = dn.! dt = 0) the
discharge electric field assumes a value which is very
near to, but slightly in excess of, the value E' which
satisfies O! (E'/N) = (3(E'/N). With E/N> E'/N, O! >(3
and ionization dominates attachment; conversely, if E/ N
< E' / N, O! < t3 and attachment dominates ionization. 12
The form of the transient V-I characteristics in Fig. 3
can be qualitatively understood by conSidering these two
regimes and the characteristics of the excitation circuit
which controls the time-varying discharge voltage.
IV. ARC FORMATION
The formation of a highly conducting filamentary dis-
charge (arc) generally limits the maximum useful dis-
charge energy density that can be achieved with the
double-discharge electrode system. As shown in Fig.
2(b) the onset of arCing is marked by a large amplitude
oscillation in the current and voltage waveforms which
results from the rapid change in loading provided by the
discharge, Studies have shown that arc formation at high
energy densities generally occurs in one of two fairly
distinct regions in the discharge cycle. One of these re-
gions is located near to the peak of the current pulse on
the falling edge and the other in the "tail" of the current
pulse as shown in Fig. 2(b). Arc formation in this latter
region has been found to be strongly dependent on the
circuit parameters and, at high energy denSity, appears
to occur when the discharge field attains a value near to
the steady-state operating value E'. Control of the form
of the V-I characteristic in this region appears to be
critical to the maintenance of a diffuse volume
discharge.
It has been shown in studies relating to low-pressure
self-sustaining CO 2 laser discharges 26 and high-pres-
sure electron-beam-sustained CO 2 discharges 27 ,28 that
ionization and attachment instabilities play an important
role in determining the stability of volume discharges.
A stability criterion for the transient volume dis-
charge can be obtained by lineariZing the coupled elec-
tron and negative ion equations [Eqs. (2) and (3)] and
finding conditions when perturbations in the electron den-
P.E. Dyer and D.J. James 1681

FIG. 5. Stability diagram for a discharge in a 1:1:8
C~/N2/He mixture at atmospheric pressure. E/N is the dis-
charge electric field normalized to the gas particle density and
~ is a parameter defined in the text.
sity grow in time, In this way, neglecting the electron
temperature dependence of 'Y, it can be shown that in-
stabilities will grow if
(4)
where
(5 )
Here fluctuations in the discharge electron temperature
Te and density ne have been related using the equation
derived by Nighan et al, 26:
aT/Te = Fan/ne'
where
(6)
v
iil and 2 are logarithmic derivatives with respect to
electron temperature of the electron energy exchange
and momentum trasfer collision frequencies, respec-
tively, and (} is the angle between the perturbing wave
and the discharge current flow. 26 We note that Eq. (4) is
essentially similar to that derived by Haas 16 for ioniza-
tion instabilities in cw molecular gas laser discharges
but retains terms appropriate to the nonsteady
discharge,
Two simple cases of Eq. (4) can be considered ac-
cording to the value of (} in Eq, (6):
°
(i) For (} = h, F = and Eq. (4) reduces to W(a - (3) >
~ for unstable waves, This result essentially says that
initial perturbations in. the electron density are main-
tained through the ionizing phase of the discharge (a >
/3); such perturbations may lead to filamentation of the
discharge.
1682 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 46, No.4, April 1975
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(ii) For (} = 0, for molecular gas laser mixtures, Eq.
(6) gives F"" _1,26 and evaluation of Eq. (4) using com-
puted data Z9 for a, /3, and Was a function of electron
temperature allows regions of instability (y > 0) to be
located. The results of such calculations for a 1 : 1 : 8
COiN/He mixture at atmospheric pressure are shown
in Fig. 5 where the region of instability for F = - 1 is
indicated on an E/ N-~ diagram (also shown in the region
of instability for F = 0).
It is evident from Fig. 5 that the transient discharge
will enter unstable regions during the ionizing phase of
the discharge (E> E') and during the voltage decay phase
(E < E'). The growth rates of the ionization instabilities
at atmospheric pressure are typically in the range 106 _
107 S-l, and hence sufficiently large for them to be Sig-
nificant during the discharge lifetime. It is predicted
that the low field instability (F = - 1) is stabilized by re-
combination if ~:;:: 6 X 106 S-l (Fig. 5); if we assume K» y
and njne ""0, this requires, from Eq, (5), Kne '6xI06
S-l. Taking K-3x10- 7 s- l cm 3 27 requires ne>2x1013 cm- 3
and a corresponding current denSity J> 20 A cm- z at
fields below the self-sustaining value. This is consider-
ably higher than generally achieved with self-sustained
CO z double-discharge lasers.
This preliminary study of arc formation in the double-
discharge laser indicates that, at least qualitatively,
there is some agreement between the predicted instabil-
ity regions and the observed arCing regions. A full treat-
ment of the discharge stability must, however, take into
account variations in the instability growth rate through
the discharge cycle, the stabilizing influence of detach-
ment which has been neglected in Eq, (4), and, on rela-
tively long time scales, gas heating effects. 16,17 Finally,
it is noted that the mere formation of an ionization in-
stability does not necessarily lead to arcing; it is likely,
however, that such instabilities lead to localized regions
of high current density which produce a change in the
cathode emission process. A result of this may be the
formation of an anode-directed streamer 15 and, if gas
heating is sufficiently rapid, 30 the formation of an arc
channel.
V. INFLUENCE OF THE CATHODE AREA ON
ENERGY DEPOSITION
The resistive load RL provided by the discharge at
peak current is RL=E'd/l p , where E' is the steady-state
operating field, d is the electrode separation, and Ip is
the peak discharge current which is determined by the
circuit parameters, For a uniform discharge the rate of
energy deposition per unit volume at peak current den-
sity is given by E'I/S, where S is the electrode area,
Since RL is independent of S it becomes possible to in-
crease the discharge energy density by decreaSing S
while maintaining the circuit parameters, and hence the
V -I characteristic of the discharge, unaltered, Use was
made of this fact to increase the stable discharge energy
density in a discharge module having Bruce profile31
electrOdes with an anode-cathode separation of 7.5 cm.
This module was initially tested with a 360-cm z elec-
trode (anode) area and was excited using a two-stage
Marx-PSNwith C1=0.05IJ.F, C 2 =0,04IJ. F , L 1 "'20 IJ.H,
and V c SSO kV. With this configuration, arc formation
P.E. Dyer and D.J. James 1682
 limited the maximum discharge energy density to S 60
J r1. At just below the arc threshold voltage the effec-
tive electrode area was systematically reduced using
Mylar sheets to partially mask the cathode; observation
of the discharge voltage and current waveforms con-
firmed that the initial arc -free V -I characteristic was
maintained. It was found that the effective cathode area
could be reduced to -110 cm 2 and uniform discharges
maintained at energy densities of 166 J 1-1 ; a further de-
crease in the electrode area, however, resulted in a re-
duction in the maximum stable discharge energy density
due to the onset of arcing. The maximum stable anode
current density was 30 A cm -2 which, with the cathode
blade structure, corresponded to - 300 A cm- 2 at the
cathode.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
The volume and arc-discharge formation characteric-
tics of an atmospheric-pressure double-discharge TEA
CO 2 laser system have been studied. It has been ob-
served that the form of the V -I characteristic of the
transient glow discharge, which is determined primarily
by the excitation circuit, plays an important role in de-
termining the stability of the discharge to arc formation.
A simple stability analysis based on the ionization-at-
tachment rate equations indicates that the discharge will
be unstable to attachment and ionization instabilities and
that these can grow suffiCiently rapidly to be important
during the discharge lifetime.
A simple technique, based on the derived steady-state
V -I characteristic of the discharge, has been used to
increase the stable discharge energy density. This tech-
nique' which involves varying the electrode area, allows
an initially arc -free V -1 characteristic to be maintained
as the discharge energy density is increased and has en-
abled an approximately threefold improvement in the
stable operating energy density of a 7. 5 -cm -gap system
to be made.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Professor S.A.
Ramsden for his support and interest in this work, Dr.
G.J. Pert for many stimulating discussions, and B. L.
Tait for his experimental assistance. They are also
grateful to K.J. Andrews for providing them with ioni-
zation and attachment data derived from a computer pro-
1683 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 46, No.4, April 1975
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130.63.180.147 On: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 21:19:26
gram obtained from Dr. A. V. Phelps and R. Bosom-
worth for technical assistance. One of the authors
P. E.D. acknowledges the receipt of a SRC Research
Fellowship during the course of this work.
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