Measurement of recombination coefficient in a transverse electric atmospheric CO2 laser gas discharge

Abstract
The product of recombination coefficient and instantaneous electron density (γne, was measured for a UV‐preionized discharge operating at atmospheric pressure for a gas mixture containing CO2, N2, and He in the ratio 1:1:8, over a range of operating field (E/N) from 0.5×10−16 V cm2 to 6.0×10−16 V cm2. This data is used in a computer program to simulate the discharge. Good agreement is observed between experimental current and voltage with those predicted by the program. It was also found that the pulse shapes are critically dependent on γne and this must be accurate to be useful in predicting the behavior of UV‐preionized discharges.