Abstract: The gas discharge space into which microwaves are fed via a waveguide forms a laser housing in the form of a waveguide having a longitudinal ridge therein, the laser housing being preferably dimensioned such that its critical wavelength .lambda..sub.k is shorter than or equal to the wavelength .lambda..sub.o of the microwave frequency. The gas laser may advantageously be a CO.sub.2 gas laser.

Abstract: A gas laser which has transverse high frequency exitation and which is improved in efficiency and in power density by the use of a coupling structure which assures a roughly positional independent electrical field strength for each neutral particle density in the full discharge space and this is accomplished with capacitance electrodes (2) between which the discharge space of a laser are arranged in a cavity resonator and wherein the mutual spacings between the capacitive electrodes (2) are positionally dependent and are selected such that they assure that an electrical field strength proportional to the neutral particle density occurs.