Re: LASERS
Hello Eltonjohn,
The easiest way to drive a CO2 laser, IMHO, is to use a "dielectric barrier discharge" (or so-called "silent discharge").
Basically you use high frequency AC, but not necessarily RF. Your electrodes may be anodized aluminum, or any other conductor covered by a thin layer of insulating material; the point is that the power is capactively coupled to the plasma.
This way, the discharge remains stable against arc formation since there can be no current crowding...the discharge cannot degenerate into an arc because, as it attempts to constrict, it effectively "sees" a smaller amount of capacitance.
If you use, say, three electrodes and drive the discharge with three phase AC (or four or electrodes with quadriphase drive, etc.), the electric field will rotate, and this will increase efficiency and stability. You can use higher power and higher gas pressure...as the electric field is changing direction at a rate faster than the rate at which a power arc can form.
Attached are some papers that may be of interest.