Abstract: A high-voltage, high current pulse is applied to a series of two or more conducting strips (101-110) installed in series in a laser cavity (150-151) containing either a buffer gas or a vacuum. The strips are separated by small gaps. When the high-voltage, high-current pulse is applied to the strips, plasmas (141-149) are formed in the gap regions. The plasmas are comprised of ions from the strip material. Once formed, these plasmas expand hemispherically, cool and recombine to provide laser action. The composition of the plasmas depends on the strip material, the electric field in the gaps, the gap size and the background gas type and pressure.

Abstract: This invention provides a laser or high voltage switch which has two spaced apart main discharge electrodes which define between them a main discharge gap, a discharge inducing member that is of an insulating material and which provides a planar or curved trigger discharge surface adjacent the electrodes and partially or completely bridging the main discharge gap, and an auxiliary conductor on the other side of the discharge inducing member to the main discharge electrodes and capacitively coupled to one of them by a distributed stray capacitance, such that when an excitation pulse is applied across the main discharge electrodes an initial capacitively initiated low order trigger discharge occurs onto the trigger discharge surface, and preferably across the surface from one main discharge electrode to the other. This trigger discharge photo-ionises a gas in the main discharge gap to cause a glow discharge between the main electrodes.

Abstract: A transversely electrically excited atmospheric pressure gas laser working in a pulsed mode (TEA laser) includes a cooled working gas conducted in circulation, a cooled cathode, an anode arranged at a distance from the cathode, and an open-worked auxiliary electrode arranged therebetween. The cooled cathode is designed as a metallic conducting, elongated cathode plate extending in the direction of the optical axis and the auxiliary electrode is arranged parallel to the cathode in the cathode drop region, in order to produce a glow skin covering the entire cathode.