Operation stability of repetitive pulse surface-discharge optical pumping source under gas-flow condition

An optical pumping source by segmented surface discharge on Al2O3 ceramic substrate is developed to realize stable operation of XeF(C-A) laser with pulse repetition mode. The discharge jitter and the deviation of radiation intensity are investigated under gas-flow condition. Photographs of discharge plasma are obtained by high-speed camera, and the stability of discharge plasma is investigated. The experimental results show that the discharge jitter and stability of discharge plasma mainly depend on charging voltage and gas-flow rate, but less depend on pulse repetition rate in the range of 1 to 5 Hz. The deviation of radiation intensity correlates with charging voltage mainly and is hardly unaffected by pulse repetition rate and gas-flow rate. When the charging voltage is added to 26.8 kV, the stable discharge with discharge jitter less than 45 ns, the deviation of radiation intensity below 2%, and spatially stable discharge plasma can be obtained.